Lost Call
by Ranranami
Summary: What if Lucy hadn't told Michael to stay home the night she went on her failed date with Max? Sam might not have discovered the truth about his brother until it was too late. And who's to say David wouldn't have had ulterior motives of his own, beyond just bringing Michael into the family for Max?
1. Chapter 1: No Answer

Author's notes:

Ran - _And thus it begins. Cue the lightning and thunder, Igor!_

Kage - _You're in for a wild ride!_

* * *

Lucy toyed with the phone cord, twirling it around one finger while she tried to get through. Three tries, and the line was still busy. How was that even possible? Dad never called anyone. Michael and Sam knew better than to long distance to Phoenix...and there was no way their deadbeat father would have cared enough to check how they were settling in.

Max had just asked her out for dinner, and she really wanted to go. But for the last two days, Michael had been staying out god knows where all night, stumbling home in the morning with hardly a word...she really needed to make sure he stayed home with Sam to keep an eye on his little brother for her.

Then again, maybe she was just more concerned about keeping him home than she was about Sam. Frankly, her youngest was showing an awful lot more common sense than Michael right now. Maybe it was just the move. He'd taken it pretty hard when he found out they were leaving Arizona behind, had hardly spoken a word to her anyway on the ride over until they'd been driving for at least an hour.

"Guess I'll just have to ask him when I get home," she sighed aloud. If Michael was even still at the house by then. If not, she supposed now was as good a time as any to give Sam a bit of extra responsibility. At least he was going to bed at night and staying home.

* * *

"Oh yeah? I bet you'd look great in that…" Sam whispered into the phone, huddled on his bed with a comic splayed over his knees. He was in love. Kinda. As soon as he remembered her name, Sam knew he could say he was in love.

"I'm so glad I met you," she sighed into his ear. Through the receiver. He'd never actively dated before, but he was beginning to get an idea why Mike seemed to always be so hot on it. Plus, she liked Superman...Superman! Some day, when she got rid of those braces, and maybe got a cup size or two behind her...she was going to be...amazing.

"So…" Sam gave the ceiling above him his best flirtatious smile, practice for when he got to see her again in person. Had to be sure he was at the top of his admittedly limited game. "...you really liked my top?"

"Ohmygosh! Yes! You've got...so much more taste than any of the losers around here. No mohawk or freaky headband...I almost didn't even go into that comic shop, but then when I saw you with those shoulder pads...and that rainbow button-up...Sam, I know it's like...super soon, but I think I'm falling for you."

"I am too...Di...Th...Sa...Uh...I like you so much, I can't remember your name," he stammered, quickly and (smoothly) covering his lie.

"Wow! That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me! It's Diana. Like Wonder Woman." She whispered the last part in the huskiest voice her squeaky vocal chords could muster. That was SO hot...

They went on like that for minutes. A couple of hours, even. It wasn't until Sam heard grandpa shuffling by in the hallway grumbling to himself about bills and wet toilet seats that he realized he'd probably have to cut it short. But maybe a few minutes more. It wasn't like anyone was trying to call them or anything. Sam seriously doubted grandpa had any friends who'd want to talk to him unless they were seriously desperate for a stuffed platypus. Ugh…

Once they'd said their good-byes, their final good-byes, their extra good-byes, and their bonus good-byes, Sam hopped off of his bed and gave Nanook a good scratch behind the ears.

"C'mon, let's go bother Mike, huh?" There was this warm water trick Sam learned back in Phoenix he'd been dying to try, and now seemed like the perfect chance. Plus, it'd get the jerk back for knocking milk all over his Superman #14.

* * *

Star woke up with a soft groan, her stomach throbbed with hunger but she wasn't going to do anything about it, she wasn't going to become one of them. She was worried, the longer she was around the boys the harder it was to resist, and Laddie, the little boy didn't deserve this. A soft growl made her look across the hotel, Laddie was crouched down by the fountain, his back to her. She scowled, quickly moving over to see what was going on. The sight before her made her cringe and gasp. Laddie was holding a rat possessively to his mouth, blood slipping over his fingers, his eyes gold with hunger. She pulled it away from him, they needed to leave as soon as they could. He growled, trying to get it back even though he was spitting out the foul tasting blood.

"Star, what're you doing?" David. She looked up, seeing the leader of the Lost Boys coming out of the crack that led to their sleeping area, "A rat? That's not going to help you."

"You wanted Michael to be my first." She put herself between David and the boy, "Why, if you were just going to give him that bottle?" She stood firm, dropping the rat, "I wasn't going to kill him then and I won't let Laddie become like you now."

He let out a snort, the other boys coming in behind him, "And what are you planning to do about it? Think Michael's going to be your white knight, ride in and save the day? Sorry, sweetheart, that's not how this works." The boys were coming closer now, "Your best bet would be to run. If you won't join the pack, if you're so set on holding on to your precious human weakness, then you're worthless to me." She felt trapped, surrounded, like they were laughing at her, mocking her. David brushed past her, settling into his chair, "As for Michael, I think he'll make a wonderful addition to the pack, unlike you."

The boys all seemed to just fade away, becoming background noise as she decided what she was going to do. Maybe Michael would come with them, maybe the three of them could run together. She had to convince him, had to show him that David and the boys would be the death of him.

* * *

Michael woke up with one of the worst headaches he'd had since...well...since ever. It was like he'd been holding his breath and testing his ability to withstand the force of an industrial clamp squeezing his brain for hours. Hours.

And what was with that freaky dream he had last night? Jumping off a bridge? Screaming until his throat was so raw he could swear he'd been swallowing sandpaper? Punching Sam out for sticking his hand in a glass of warm wa-...oh, no...that definitely happened. He was going to be in a shit load of trouble, too, when mom got home and saw the shiner proclaiming his guilt to the world. Funny, he wouldn't normally have gotten so mad over a stupid trick like that, but he'd just been...so tired. Hadn't been thinking. Great, now he felt like a jerk.

Cracking open his eyes, Michael turned his head towards the bedroom window. Still some light out, but not a lot. He felt around his bedside stand for his sunglasses and shoved them onto his face. Not much light, but not too great for his headache, either. The sun was going down, though. That meant mom was probably home, which also meant the almighty small but daunting shoe was about to fall if he didn't make like a tree and get the fuck out of there.

Jesus Christ, he could feel his pulse throbbing with his migraine. Whatever David put in that joint they were smoking, it would probably be a good idea to just...never try it again. Or at least not combine it with the tepid wine they'd been plying him with for the last two nights. Funny, he always thought wine was supposed to be chilled or something...but he had to admit something told him it wouldn't have tasted nearly as good. And it did taste good...really good.

There was no need to get dressed. Apparently he'd slept in his clothes...should probably take a shower, actually…

Nah, not worth the risk of being cornered by mom. Best to just sneak out now while he still had a chance. He knew this wasn't like him, acting like a punk, avoiding mom and hanging out at some musty wrecked hangout by the beach with a bunch of crazy bikers he barely knew. But they were pretty fun, and he felt a weird connection to them. Didn't really understand it. Then there was Star...and wow, she was just about the hottest chick he'd ever met. Yeah, maybe a little...what...fearful? Nervous? He didn't really know what the deal was with her and David, but he could tell she liked him. And he liked her, so...he was probably in there.

Shaking his head out of his thoughts, not wanting to get stuck in them long enough for mom to break into his room with a few choice words and Sam making faces at him behind her shoulder, Michael headed out.

He didn't notice grandpa staring after him through the workshop doors. Didn't notice Nanook lowering his ears as he passed the husky on the porch. But he did notice that the closer he got to his bike, and the closer it got to sundown, the less his head seemed to hurt.

* * *

David could feel Michael as he got closer, knew he was coming, and couldn't wait to see what Star was going to do. Dwayne was herding the others into the shadows, clapping a hand over Marko's big mouth. It wouldn't do to ruin the game, to show Michael that Star was crazy and not to be trusted. David followed soon after, catching a glimpse of his new halfling and making himself scarce.

' _Dude, do you think this is gonna work_?' Marko was licking Dwayne's Palm, trying to get him to let go but the dark haired vampire didn't budge.

David let out a soft snort, ' _Of course it will, he's mine after all, not Max's_.'

' _Well, he is kind of an idiot, yeah, he's yours alright._ ' Paul snickered and Dwayne thumped him on the back of the head.

David glared at him, promising pain, before turning his gaze back to the spectacle that was about to unfold.

* * *

Star pressed a warm cloth dipped in salt water up against Laddie's face, scrubbing at the remaining tufts of dank fur and sticky dark blood. The smell was enough to send her stomach into another spasm, and it was so desperately hard to fight the urge to clean his face up with her tongue instead of a rag. But she knew it wouldn't satisfy, as if Laddie's reaction when he'd been trying to feed from that nasty rat hadn't been enough of a clue. David's little hint he'd dropped when he saw them convinced her. So she wrung out the cloth again, and finished wiping up his face.

"Laddie, I want you to go wait outside. When...if Michael shows up tonight, we're all going to go on a little trip together. Okay?" And maybe somehow being further away from the boys would make the hunger weaker. Maybe it would buy them some time...the hard part was going to be confessing everything to Michael. That included what they all were, and what he was becoming.

God, she hoped he'd listen to her. It was her fault he'd ended up in this mess. She'd found him, she'd led him on like a love-sick calf right up to David. But he couldn't have Michael. She wasn't going to let him get hurt. Star wanted to make it right. She had to make it right.

Laddie looked up at Star, wiping at his nose where a bit of fur was still clinging, tickling his nostrils. "Are we gonna go home, Star?"

"I hope so, Laddie," she kissed his forehead and urged him towards the jungle of rusted metal scraps and old bed frames that lined the exit. Pieces of people's lives tossed and shoved up like decorations. Old vines dripping down to lick at the dusty ground. If Star couldn't get Michael to leave with her, she knew he'd live long enough to see that jungle melt under rust and damp...and for a moment it looked like the metal was shifting towards her after Laddie left. It felt like the cave was getting smaller.

"Star?" Michael called out, trailing into the room. "David? Anybody here?" She watched him trail about the lobby, scooping that evil bottle up into his hands and sniffing at it, before shrugging and tossing it aside.

She snatched her shawl up from the couch and wrapped it tightly about her shoulders, "I'm right here, Michael."

"Hey," he spun about, smirking at her. "You the only one here tonight?"

"No...no, I'm not…" She looked up to the roof of the lobby, eyes darting about, just catching the sight of pigeons taking flight from the cave. For a moment, she envied how easy it must be for them. As far as she knew, there was no such thing as vampire pigeons, after all.

"So...you...want to grab that burger we talked about the other night?" He asked, stepping closer to her and tucking his hands into his pockets. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair, and more than anything...she really wished she could just go out for that burger with him. Pretend none of this had ever happened, and that David had never come into their lives. In another world, maybe, they could be happy together. If she could figure out a way to make him leave with her and never come back, maybe they would.

"I don't really want a burger right now, Michael," Star reached out a hand towards his and he took it, looking into her face and then back down at her slender hand latched onto his like a lifeline.

"...You feeling okay?" He rasped, pulling off his sunglasses and tucking them into a jacket pocket.

"Michael, I need to tell you something important, and I need you to listen to me. I'm sorry I drug you into this, but David...Paul...Marko...Dwayne...they're going to kill me. They're going to kill you and Laddie too, if we don't get out of here right now!"

"Uh...what?!" Michael pulled his hand out of hers and she knew in that instant he didn't believe her. He was giving her this look...and she didn't know what to do but come out with it. Tell him the truth. Maybe the blood had already worked through him enough for this to be easier to believe. He'd certainly had a lot of it...much more than she'd had, anyway.

"They're...they're monsters, Michael. They want you to be one, too," she sobbed, throwing herself into his chest, "we need to go away before they can catch us. We need to get away before they can-"

"Star...listen to yourself." Michael grabbed her shoulders and stepped back a bit, tilting his head down, "if they're hurting you, then yeah...I think I can probably take you back home with me. But there's no way I'm ever hitting you, okay? I don't hit girls."

"That's not what I mean!" She protested, shaking her head wildly, hair flying about her face like a frenzied Maenad's. And in that moment, she saw the boys surrounding her, heard their cruel taunts digging into her brain, scratching at her skull. She pressed her hands to her ears and began to cry, "don't you see?! They're evil, Michael! They're vampires!"

Michael looked around, then back at her, and she finally seemed to see a note of fear creep into his eyes...but he wasn't afraid of them...he was backing away from her.

"Michael...Michael, I'm not like them. You're not like them. We're only half, and so is Laddie," she dropped her hands, reaching out and begging him with her eyes and words to just stop and listen. Wasn't the taunting and laughter around them enough to convince him? Couldn't he see?!

"Look, I really like you. I do, but...Star…" He looked down at his feet and then back up at her. She clapped her hands to her mouth and muffled a blood-curdling scream. He'd grown fangs, just like the rest of them, his eyes just as feral and golden...blood dripped from his mouth, and she realized then exactly what David had meant about him making a wonderful addition to the pack. Because somehow, some way, he already was!

"Calm down! What the hell are you on?!" He exclaimed, and the laughter grew even louder. So loud she thought her eardrums would explode.

 _I'm so sorry, Michael...I'm so sorry I brought you into this...I'm so sorry they killed you..._ she wept, dashing from the lobby in a fit of tears, bare feet cutting into a broken bottle and leaving spots of her own blood behind her. If she'd been thinking with a level head, she might have realized everything she'd just seen and heard was only an illusion…

* * *

Michael stared after Star, confused and a little scared at the same time. Not scared of the guys. They hadn't given him any reason to think they were anything more than a bit foolhardy, maybe even a bit wild...and now he was realizing he'd come within moments of making a massive mistake. Star was nuts...that was the only explanation for the weird episode that had just played out in front of him. She even thought they were...vampires?!

Maybe she was taking hits of acid or something. And it finally just came back to bite her in the ass. He couldn't help but wonder if this was a routine with her, and maybe she'd come stumbling back a few hours later acting like nothing had happened. Michael crossed his arms and strolled towards the ratty couch, wondering whether it would just be better to go home and never come back. If she acted like this on an off night, there was no telling what would happen when the guys showed up. Hell, they could be more batshit than Star.

He didn't really know why his feet protested with his decision to leave, or why he felt compelled to just sit down and wait. But he did. And he really hoped he wasn't going to regret that later…

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Michael, you're looking a little," the bleach blonde looked thoughtful, "confused. Something on your mind?" David seemed to appear from nowhere, settling himself like a king in his wheelchair throne. He rolled closer to the brunette, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. He glanced around, "Thought I saw Star earlier." He shrugged, "So, talk to me."

Michael jerked up, startled by David's arrival. Damn...where did he come from? "Uh...you...does she take meds or something? She was acting...funny…" He smiled weakly, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, is she like that all the time?" Michael really hoped he didn't have an unwitting attraction to mental patients. That would be just his luck, too. Parents divorced. Dad a jerk. Sam a dork. Mom hopelessly addicted to making poor choices...and him...with a taste for crazy.

"Star?" He raised an eyebrow, "What'd she do this time?" He sighed. Of course she was totally sane but Michael didn't need to know that and after the spectacle she put on from David's mind tricks, well, of course she's crazy, "I swear she's been getting into shit she shouldn't. It wouldn't surprise me if she was high. Been thinking about making her leave for awhile now, what'd she do to you?" He made a show of looking for wounds, "Doesn't look like she went feral."

"Feral?" Michael scowled, "like...she actually...she attacks people?!" He practically yelped, growing more and more uncomfortable with the 'what if' scenarios in his head playing out. Like...what if they'd decided to do the deed? Would she have just gone nuts and tried to scratch or bite his...oh god, he didn't even want to go there.

Taking a deep breath, Michael tried to calm himself, "she said a lot of stuff. Called you guys monsters...vampires...then she screamed her head off and went running outside like I was going to kill her or something and then…" he nodded towards the trail of blood spots in the dirt...and then he had to make himself look away. There was...something about that...it made him feel kinda funny. Was crazy contagious?

David tossed his head back and laughed, the sound filling the room, "She scratched Paul once, was about that time I was gonna make her leave but she seemed to do better so I didn't push it, but now, well, if she comes back…" He shrugged, "Monsters, vampires," he shook his head, "what do you think we are, Michael?" He licked his lips slowly, "Do you think we're monsters?" His voice was low and calming, almost seductive.

"Monsters?" Michael repeated, eyes half-closed. For a moment, he felt like he was sinking forward...then he caught himself and pulled back, shaking his head and laughing a bit nervously, "nah. Not monsters. Assholes, maybe, but I guess you're alright." He paused. "So...you and Star...were you two dating, then, or something?"

He shook his head, "Nah, if anything it was casual. We gave her a place to stay, she ran off from Oregon, Washington, I dunno, but I've got a soft spot for the lost ones." He chuckled softly, "Took you in, didn't I?" He was teasing, Michael was lost, he just didn't know it yet.

Michael wasn't sure how to respond to that. David and his friends had a weird sense of humor, and so far he'd only really followed half of the jokes. But at least they weren't trying to make him drive off a cliff again. Wasn't too sure he'd let that slide a second time.

"So…" Michael licked his lips, "you guys have any plans tonight, or just hanging out here?"

"Plans tonight, I was thinking we'd head to the boardwalk, show you a good time, have a little fun." He looked him over, "Maybe get you a new pair of boots, those shoes are shit, won't last you long. I'm glad you showed up tonight."

Michael's eyes flicked down to his worn-out sneakers and then back up to David, "I don't really have the cash for that." He plucked at his jacket, "kinda blew it all on this. Don't really want to spend another day picking trash off the beach. Even had some assholes kick sand in my face when I took a break. Man, the surfers around here a real dicks. Would've beat the shit out of them if I wasn't on the clock."

David grinned, "Don't worry about the cost, you're one of us, we look after our own." He paused for a moment, "As for the surf nazis, we have a long running...rivalry, with them. Maybe they'll get it through their heads not to mess with you once you've spent some more time with us. Was a good choice on the jacket." He grinned, "Just need to get the rest of you matching."

Shaking his head, Michael couldn't help but laugh, "you don't take no for an answer, do you?"

David's smile was dark, "Never."


	2. Chapter 2: The Date

Author's notes:

Ran - _Man, we're on such a roll with this story, it's almost scary. Don't expect this awesome train to stop any time soon._

Kage - _I still feel like I'm being horribly mean to poor Michael and Sam and, well, most of them!_

Ran _\- Oh. You are. Don't worry about that. But that's half the fun._

* * *

Max couldn't be happier. He knew he had made the right choice, knew the moment he saw her that she was the one he wanted. Lucy Emerson was perfect. She was already a mother, raised two boys, and he was looking forward to the whole family being brought into his. David was already working on the older one, having both Sam and Michael would make it easier to bring Lucy across. He knew he was being impatient, knew he needed to take his time, but he wanted her, oh, how he wanted her. Hopefully David wouldn't ruin it for him, the boys really did need a mother.

He smiled at her, had already ordered their wine for the night, and yet he was already beating himself up for choosing a white over a red.

"Lucy, thank you for joining me tonight." He smiled again, "Please, tell me more about yourself and what brought you to our fair city."

Lucy looked up from her lap, where she'd been nervously fiddling with her napkin, giving him a small, strained smile. "I, well…" she reached for her glass of water with one bird-like hand, taking an anxious sip before setting it back down in front of her. "I just got out of a...pretty tough divorce. Then I just decided to pack everything up and start fresh. My dad had a few spare rooms, and he's getting older, so I thought it was for the best if he got to know Michael and Sam while we get back on our feet."

She pressed a hand to her lips, suppressing a hiccup, "I hope I haven't said too much. When I just went to check up on Sam, I could swear I heard a girl with him…" She shook her head, "I'm really worried both of my boys aren't taking this move too well. I'd really hoped they would like Santa Carla...But...but what about you, hm? Tell me about yourself, Max."

He reached across the table, gently touching her hand, "I've been here a long time, it's gotten rather lonely." He paused, debating on how much he wanted to say, "I had boys of my own, they're grown now, but I know how difficult they can be. I'm sure Michael and Sam are good boys, they just need some time to get used to things. Maybe having a girl over is good for him, young love can be a beautiful thing." He smiled again, "I'm sure they will come to love Santa Carla, we have a lot to offer."

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm sure you're right. I haven't honestly been back here since I was a little girl…" her eyes searched about the restaurant for something to say, "a lot has changed. But...a lot hasn't. I can't thank you enough for giving me a job. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't stumbled into you that night…"

Just then, a waiter cruised by with a large platter of salads and steaks. Lucy cleared her throat, "everything here must cost a fortune. I really shouldn't let you pay for everything. Please, at least let me cover the tip."

He shook his head, "No, I couldn't do that! I insist."

He glanced out the window, a familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach. David and the boys were there, glancing in, and Michael was with them, good, but there was something wrong. Something very wrong. He couldn't feel a connection with Michael but he knew the young man had drank, David had assured him of it. He pulled his glasses off, cleaning a smudge. David had turned him, it was David's blood, not his. He absently cleaned the other lense, jaw tightening slightly. This was not what he wanted, David had ruined everything. He would have to change his plans, getting Sam and Lucy would give him the edge, they would draw Michael to him, away from David. Although he still had to worry about the bond between them but David wouldn't know how to use it. The bleach blonde waved at him and he felt his teeth clench. This would have to be taken care of but in all honesty he wasn't sure how.

Lucy leaned forward, "Max...I don't mean to pry, but are you feeling okay? You've been polishing your glasses for at least five minutes...I'm sure they're clean…"

Her eyes trailed towards the window to see what might have drawn the man's attention, when she caught sight of those boys from the video store; not just them either, but Michael as well. Her lips twitched in concern, and she took another sip of water. She didn't think there was anything particularly wrong with them, except perhaps a flair for the dramatic, and a very...questionable wardrobe...but she wasn't too sure she liked seeing her oldest hanging around with them, either. Still, she supposed it was a good thing Michael was making friends. She'd have to ask him later about them, though, and find out exactly what sort of friends they were.

Behind her, she heard hurried crunching, and turned her head slightly to catch sight of what looked like a very hungry and...very voluptuous woman devouring her salad with gusto. Lucy looked back at her own plate and gingerly picked up her fork to flip a leaf over. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

Max slid his glasses back into place, looking at her sheepishly before picking up his fork, "Those boys…" He shook his head and immediately dropped his fork.

The woman who had been eating her salad screamed, jerking back from her table, and sending plates and silverware scattering across the floor. Expensive China broke into shards as the bowl of greens fell from the table. Her companion was on his feet, trying to calm her as she continued to scream hysterically.

"Beetles, there were beetles in my salad!" She sobbed, clinging to the man beside her.

Max took his glasses off and began cleaning them again.

* * *

Michael had half a mind to wave at his mom when the boys stopped and he spotted her through the restaurant window. What were the odds that they'd end up there of all places? Wait...was she on a date? When did this start happening?! They'd hardly even settled in yet, and she was out with some guy without even telling him? Did Sam know about this?

He knew he was being a bit selfish. His mom had every right to start dating again...but she could have at least mentioned it. Finding out that she was with some guy, and it looked like the same nerd who ran that video place she was working out...it almost made him feel like he wasn't even part of the family. Like keeping him informed wasn't even worth the trouble.

"Why are we stopping here?" He asked warily, looking around at the others. They hadn't really done much yet besides park their bikes and start walking...beginning the night with a pleasant little discovery like this wasn't really his idea of fun.

David grinned, "See, Max and I, well, we don't really get along. He thinks he can tell us what to do and we, well, we do what we want. He's got this thing for your mom. Honestly we had no idea he'd be here but we can't help but have a little fun when we see him." He paused, "We're actually going to go get you those boots." He grinned at Max through the window, watching as he started cleaning his glasses again, "Hey, look." He wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close and pointing to a young woman digging into her salad, "Bet she's a screamer." He laughed, watching as she jerked back from the table, screaming.

Michael wanted to shove David away in anger, but resisted the urge, "how the fuck do you know who my mom is?!" He hadn't introduced them. There was no way they would have seen them together the first night on the boardwalk. But he was momentarily distracted by the sudden odd occurrence in the restaurant, and his mouth gaped open like a fish, "how...how did you know she'd do that?"

David smirked, "Just look at her, she's fits a type. I didn't know she was going to scream right then but damn, I love coincidences." Whoops, okay, so maybe he could have phrased it a little differently but he couldn't help himself, Michael was fun to mess with, "Come on, time to do a little shopping, boots, maybe a new pair of pants, something darker."

With one quick glance over to Lucy through the window, Michael shrugged, "fine. Whatever. Starting to feel like you think I'm a dress-up doll, but I'll bite. As long as I'm not paying." He paused. "Wait...what's wrong with my pants? These are my lucky jeans..."

David led the way, grinning at the other boys. Michael was definitely a dress-up doll, at least until they fixed his sense of style, at least it wasn't as bad as his brother's. His choice of words was perfect though, they would have to get him to bite sooner or later, he really needed to get comfortable with the idea, not that his comfort mattered in the long run. What was really important was making him feel like pack.

Marko glanced back at Michael and then towards David with a private little smirk, " _So, Davey, how do you feel about spangles?_ "

" _I think you're going to get a black eye if you even try it_ ," Dwayne snorted, drawing Michael's curious attention.

" _Spangles? Are you serious? How about we put you in spangles? I think they'd look good on you, maybe weave some sparkles into your hair or some shit._ " David sneered, shaking his head.

Paul burst out laughing, tossing his head back, not able to help himself, "Oh, man…"

"And...you're sure Star's the only one who dropped acid tonight?" Michael exclaimed, eyes flicking warily over Paul.

David growled softly, smacking Paul upside the head, "It wouldn't surprise me if he did, the asshole, he hides his stash. I don't know half the shit he keeps in there. He doesn't get violent, usually a little out there, lost in his own thoughts. We put up with him because he's entertaining. At least most of the time." He paused, "Star's just batshit."

Michael kept his opinions to himself for the time being, but he was definitely going to keep a closer eye on Paul. The minute he started doing something funny, like screaming his head off about vampires and trying to claw someone's eyes out, Michael was gone. And anyway, school was starting soon...if he got caught even close to any kind of stash, he probably wasn't going to get a spot on any local teams.

He didn't really want to go back, but mom wasn't really letting him have a choice about it. Honestly, all Michael wanted to do was have a bit of fun before he had to buckle down and get a real job to help support his family. And whether Paul was a nutjob or not, at least he was interesting. Michael would give him that much credit.

David cocked his head to the side slightly, "Don't worry about his stash, we'll make sure he doesn't get into it around you." He stopped in front of their usual store, "Come on, pick out whatever you want, we'll pick some stuff for you too."

Michael raised his eyebrows in surprise, "do I even want to know how you got the money to do something like this?"

"Totally legal, Mikey!" Marko grinned.

"More or less," Paul snickered.

David rolled his eyes, grabbing a nice pair of motorcycle boots, black with silver accents, "What size?"

"Uh…" Michael looked down at his shoes and then sheepishly crouched over to pluck one from his feet, squinting to look inside and make out the faded number. Honestly, he hadn't bought new shoes in awhile. "...12...and...a half...I think," he shrugged, slipping the shoe back on and stomping to get it back in place as he tucked his hands into his jacket pockets.

Dwayne rolled his eyes finding a pair, "Try 'em."

"Wow, pushy much?" Michael snorted, taking the shoes from Dwayne and examining them. They were nice. He'd admit that...still, he couldn't help but think something about this whole scenario was all a little...off.

David shook his head, "Something wrong? They should be comfortable, we can always pick out a different pair."

"No...no, it's fine," Michael walked over to a small stool beside a wrack of belts and sat down, "I'm just...I don't know, I mean...you're a bunch of dudes and you're buying things for me like I'm a chick. It's weird." He paused. Maybe they felt guilty about nearly killing him during that stupid bike race. It made as much sense as anything else, he supposed. And the shoes were really nice...nicer than any he'd ever had, anyway. David was right, too, when Michael slipped them on. They fit like a dream. Maybe a little snug in the toes, but most shoes tended to be.

Marko grinned, "Look good!" He glanced around the store, trying to find something that sparkled, eye catching, that David would hate.

Paul leaned over to Marko, nodding at a sign above a door with a beaded curtain labeled 'adults only.' He wiggled his eyebrows and bit his bottom lip, trying not to cackle. Didn't want to scare Mikey again. Marko grinned, disappearing behind the curtain while David narrowed his eyes at him, watching him go.

Dwayne scowled, " _Where's the little monkey going? Paul._ "

" _Oz? The Emerald City? China? I don't know, why are you asking me?_ " Paul looked up at the ceiling, feigning his most innocent smile...which, admittedly, wasn't very innocent.

Michael was too focused on trying to find the price tag for the boots to notice. He was still really uncomfortable about this. If they cost too much, he was going to turn them down. David snagged them from him before he could find the tag, grabbing a pair of black leather pants, soft and supple, holding them out for him to try, hoping he got the size right.

Slowly reaching out to take the pants from David, Michael smiled weakly, "uh...thanks…" Leather. That was...how the hell would he explain something like that to mom? Still, clearly he wasn't getting out of this shop unless he tried a few things on. That didn't mean he'd take them, but it wasn't worth it to piss them off. Hell, they were trying to be nice. A little too nice, but they didn't seem like the type. So he guessed he'd just have to go with it.

"I'll just...go to the dressing room then…" Michael informed them, glancing about the building...and wouldn't you know it, the dressing room was right beside the beaded curtain to the adults only section. This was one freaky shop, he thought to himself, as he walked through the door. Everything about Santa Carla seemed a little freaky, though.

" _Marko, where are you? What do you think you're doing? Where'd you run off to?_ " David's voice was a low growl in his head.

" **Hey, they got any panties in there?!** " Paul shouted aloud, shamelessly. He didn't even know the meaning of the word shame.

David shook his head, smacking him upside his blonde mullet, "Shut up, are you trying to drive our little halfling away?" His voice came out as a low hiss.

" _Not to break up the tea party, but...don't those dressing rooms have mirrors?_ " Dwayne asked, idly picking at his nails with a switchblade while he leaned against the belt wrack.

"Shit." David looked toward the dressing room.

* * *

Michael glanced around the hallway, surrounded by about six stalls in total. No gender signs. No attendant...so...was he supposed to just pick one? Now he was beginning to wonder how many people had tried on these pants...he shrugged the thought away. Hopefully if they had been worn, they were pressed and clean afterwards. Sharing in the ball sweat of a dozen potential leather-fetish shoppers before him definitely wasn't something Michael even wanted to remotely ponder.

Maybe...maybe he could just pretend he tried them on. They wouldn't know, and he could just say they weren't the right fit. That seemed simple enough. Then, maybe, they'd just...stop with the boots. Okay, he really doubted it. Shopping had always been Sam's and mom's thing, not his. Most of Michael's closet was packed with stuff he'd gotten over the holidays, or when he was physically dragged to the mall against his will. Flashbacks of half-priced Sunday Sprees flitted through his mind, and he reluctantly trailed towards one of the stalls, pulling the door open and stepping inside. Someone had broken the mirror. Shattered bits of glass surrounded him, but he was way too busy focusing on the pants to notice the oddly half-translucent reflection of himself bouncing off of them.

Horror of horrors. The pants fit...and they felt nice. Dear god, he hoped he hadn't just discovered he numbered among those freaky leather fetishists too. That was just what he needed right now, he thought to himself, as he examined the seams on his legs and straightened them. All he had to do now was take them off, though, and tell the guys he'd prefer plain jeans, and he'd never have to explore that stomach churning possibility…

Still, now that he saw how great his legs looked, he was almost disappointed the mirror was broken. Maybe he could go look in one of the other stalls...he slowly cracked the door open and scooped up his jeans, flinching when the wood and hinges protested at the affrontery of being moved. Shit, now they'd probably come in there and manipulate him into actually accepting their (no doubt) needlessly expensive and kinky gift.

David pushed his way inside, letting out a low whistle, "Lookin' good, Michael. Put your boots on too." He held them out, waiting to see if he was going to freak out or not. The fact that he hadn't come out petrified by his lack of reflection was a plus at least, "I won't even pick out a new shirt for you." He grinned, eyes locked on his.

When Michael's eyes connected with David's he felt oddly compelled to wordlessly take the shoes and begin slipping them on. Words or protest about this little shopping excursion having fled his mind. "Uh...thanks. I think someone trashed this place, though," he nodded back to the stall. "Mirror's broken."

" _Oh, right. I broke those mirrors the last time we came in here. Silly me,_ " Dwayne remarked dryly in David's mind, leaning against the doorframe that led into the dressing rooms. Maybe he wasn't as loud and wild as the other two, but he had his moments.

David let out a sigh of relief, " _You forgot? How could you forget?_ "

" _Slipped my mind,_ " Dwayne looked back at his nails and continued to clean them with the switchblade.

" _Damn. So irresponsible!_ " Paul exclaimed, throwing an arm around Dwayne's shoulders and peering into the room. "Nice. Kinda got a Rod Stewart vibe now...bit taller though, aren't ya, Mikey?"

Michael quirked an eyebrow, "my name's _Michael_."

Marko grinned, coming in behind them and holding up the most blinged out jacket any of them had ever seen. It was an eyesore and David immediately cringed, "What is that?" His lip curled up in disgust, "How does that even exist?"

" _Like I said. Emerald city_ ," Paul's helpful contribution.

"Okay," Michael clapped his hands and laughed nervously, "I think that's enough shopping for today. Why don't we go? I think we should go. Yes. Definitely...let's go…" He practically darted from the room.

The boys laughed, following after, David hanging back to toss money at the counter, the girl cringing back from them before quickly scooping it up to put in the register. Once they were safely outside David seriously thought about grabbing the old worn jeans from Michael and throwing them away but he had a feeling the halfling would get pissed. Instead he stepped forward, looking over their newest member with pride.

"Much better." He clapped a hand on his shoulder, "So, boys, what should we do for the rest of the night?"

"Panty raid?" Paul suggested, rubbing his hands together.

"What is it with you and panties tonight?" Dwayne quirked an eyebrow.

Paul shrugged, "didn't eat dinner."

"Dinner has nothing to do with it, horndog, let's go for a ride!" Marko was practically bouncing.

David nodded, "A ride it is, show Michael some of the best places in Santa Carla."

Michael had to admit...that did sound pretty fun. "Alright, sure. Just...no racing this time, huh? I don't think my bike can take much more of that..."

* * *

Sam couldn't believe it. A girl. In his house. And no adults in sight...not even Mike to poke his fat nose in and bring up something stupid like non-existent tracks in his underwear, or an embarrassing rash he needed ointment for. Honestly, Mike could be such a dick when Sam tried bringing any girls around. Or just…in general. Yeah, in general.

"Soooooo...Diana…" Sam twiddled his thumbs together, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her, "how...is it...going?" Smooth. The greatest panty-peeling line ever invented. He wanted to slap himself in the face.

Diana couldn't help but giggle a little, smiling at him, "Going good, I'm really glad you invited me over tonight." She bit her lip slightly, her fingers gripping at her jeans, nervous, "So, umm, I know you like comics, what else do I need to know about the awesome Sam Emerson?"

Sam puffed out his chest with pride. Awesome? She thought he was awesome?! "I, uh," he cleared his throat, flexing one of his arms and smacking his bicep, "I do a bit of lifting. Yeah, got a whole routine going. You saw those weights in the front room? Those are mine. I'm a bit of a bodybuilder on the weekends," he lied. Lied so hard his teeth hurt. But this was a girl...in his bedroom...calling him _awesome_. He had to somehow live up to her expectations, or at least pretend he was.

"You see my brother around, he just borrows them. But they're mine. Really. All mine...have to take half the weight off for him when he tries to lift them. Poor guy...he's a big baby, really."

She smiled at him, hesitantly laying a hand on his leg, "Aww." She's humoring him but it's okay, she still really likes him, it's easy to tell, "It's okay, you have a brother? I bet he's not as cool as you. I bet he doesn't even like comics, what a loser."

He laughed, "well...okay, Mike's not that bad. He plays stupid pranks on me, but I do the same…" Sam indicated his black eye, "gave this to me this afternoon, too, when I stuck his hand in a cup of warm water while he was sleeping. Jerk's been pretty much staying out all night for like...three days now...and then coming home and sleeping all day. He's such a lunk-head sometimes, following this girl and some bikers around just to get some tail," Sam shook his head.

"Uh...you're not tail, though. I didn't...I didn't mean you were. I like you. Really. You're normal. Not tail...you get what I'm sa...okay, Sam, stop digging the hole. It's deep enough…" He took a deep breath and buttoned his lips, wanting to kick himself.

"Bikers? What bikers?" Her eyes go a little wide, seeming to ignore the hole he dug thanks to the mention of bikers. Her hand clenched on his leg, her throat working as she swallowed.

"Uh…" Sam lowered his eyebrows and looked up, "I mean...those...y'know, those guys wearing all that black shit, with the crazy hair and earrings...they even gave Mike one." Sam flicked his own stud, "nowhere near as cool as mine."

She swallowed again, "Umm, Sam, those guys, they're bad, like really bad, like Lex Luthor bad."

"What?! Nobody's that bad, Diana!" Sam blurted, shaking his head. "Wait...you mean...do they do...marijuana?" He whispered the last word, looking back towards his bedroom door. Maybe they're the guys grandpa bought it from…

She shook her head, "No, I don't think they do pot. There are stories, some people say they make people disappear in the middle of the night. That they kill people. They're responsible for all the bad things that happen in town. You look at them funny, or make one wrong move...I wouldn't want to be in your shoes. I'm telling you, Sam, those bikers are bad news. You know what people call them? 'The Lost Boys'. I wouldn't want to hang around anyone with a nickname like that, no sir!"

 _Yikes!_ "You...you think they wanna do the same thing to my brother? Kill him? Make him disappear?!" He was practically squeaking now. Sam was very impressionable, especially since he'd been powering through those dumb comics the Frog guys had given him.

"You said he had an earring, like them, does he look like them? Dressing like them? Maybe they're gonna make him one of them, like body snatchers."

Sam gulped, "he...he bought a jacket. But that was just to get some chick's attention. That and the earring is all. Still wears his dumb old sneakers and jeans, so...yeah, I don't think so." Even mom knew Mike would only stop wearing those jeans when they were pried out of his cold, dead hands. They'd actually gotten into fights about it.

She let out a sigh of relief, "Good, maybe you can talk him out of staying away from them, I don't want your brother to die." She paused, "I think he'll be fine, just watch him, okay?"

Sam nodded, "yeah! Definitely!" And suddenly, he was no longer in the mood to practice frenching anymore. Jeeze, what had Mike gotten himself into?

* * *

"I had...an interesting time, Max," Lucy said hesitantly at the front door, holding it open as she waited for him to say something. They had to rush this along. It had been an awful night, even if it wasn't Max's fault. She wasn't so sure dating her boss was a good idea, and certainly not if Sam was going to bring girls home when she was out of the house. "But...I just don't think I'm ready for a relationship right now. Would you...would you hold on for just a bit while I go check on Sam?" She didn't wait for an answer before she was heading swiftly up the stairs to give her youngest a piece of her mind.

Grandpa eyed the open front door with disdain, someone was here that shouldn't be. He stepped forward, peering out to see the skinny guy from the video store. His eyes narrowed at him. This one was bad news, he could smell the death on him, but he knew if he told Lucy to stay away she would think he was being overprotective. He was going to have to step up on the protections around the house.

"What do you want?" He eyed him wearily, not falling for the smile on his face.

"Well, I was hoping I could share a coffee with Lucy before we parted for the night. Maybe we could discuss our future."

Grandpa shook his head, "You can wait on the porch like everyone else." He stated firmly, "If my Lucy wants to talk to you I can't stop her but just know, I don't like you. Now, if you want to wait, wait, but you're not coming in this house, ya hear?" Max nodded, "Good." Grandpa shut the door firmly, he needed to go dig into his stash, bless the doorframe, stop them from coming inside, or at least give them a warning if one tried to.


	3. Chapter 3: Alas, Poor Bike

Author's notes:

Ran - _Karry, in response to your question about the Frogs in ISB, I will touch on what happened to them in the eventual present day sequel. And talk about raging vampire puberty hormones, Michael. Jeeze._

Kage - _You can't blame him! He doesn't understand and he's dealing with a manipulative bastard!_

* * *

Lucy looked up from her coffee cup, finally catching the sight of her wayward eldest arriving on the scene. In the middle of the afternoon. This behavior had to stop. Sam was already upstairs and grounded for his own little problem, but she expected better from Michael. He'd always been good. Before the move, they'd been close. And now they hardly even spoke to each other anymore.

"Michael?" She called out, and the brunette jerked his head up slightly, face shielded by his sunglasses. For all the world, he looked like his father right now, coming home after being god knows where.

"Mom," he croaked, voice dry and scratchy.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" She prodded, urged him to open up.

"I'm tired, mom," he grumbled.

"Michael, please. We used to be so close. If there's anything...just...just tell me,"

"I'm tired," he repeated, licking his lips.

"Michael-"

"I'm tired."

She sighed, setting her cup aside and rubbing her hands together, "things are going to be a lot different when school starts, mister," she replied, having the last word as he turned away to yank open the door...and then stopped, lowering his sunglasses and glaring down at the door frame.

"Michael?" She asked, concerned. He looked like he was getting sick...his eyes were bloodshot...his skin was pale...and he was trembling. "Is everything okay? Are you alright?"

With shaky hands, he braced himself against the side of the house and took a deep breath, "f-fine...just...nauseous…" He made another move to go inside of the house, and as he put his foot across the threshold, he looked as if he were about to vomit. Oh lord, she just knew he was doing drugs! And if that wasn't bad enough, he was probably stealing too...she knew very well he couldn't afford pants or shoes like that with what he'd made collecting trash on the beach. This had to stop soon before somebody got hurt!

Grandpa was watching from his shed, watching as his grandson had trouble passing over the holy oil, watching as his fears were coming to light, watching as he thought about the decision he was going to have to make, whether he could save his grandson or not.

* * *

Sam looked mournfully at the locked steamer trunk in front of his bed. Mom had banned him from his comic collection for two weeks when she came home and made him confess about inviting Diana over. It wasn't like they'd done anything! Why'd she have to make such a big deal about it? She never got mad at Mike when he brought girls home...of course, it probably didn't help that Sam had kept his door closed…

"Sam?" He jerked up at the sound of Lucy calling his name from the hallway.

"What is it, mom? Am...am I getting my comics back early?"

"No, sweety. You've got 13 days left. I want to talk to you about your brother," she leaned against the door frame, arms wrapped around her torso. "Have you noticed him acting strange these last few days? I mean, other than staying out all night and sleeping all the time?"

He shrugged, "yeah...kinda."

"Do you know where he got the money for those pants?" She asked, nibbling at the corner of her lip.

"Pants?" Sam looked at her funny, "mom, he's had those jeans for years…"

"No, he...he came home this morning with new pants. And boots. They looked expensive, and I just wanted to know if you'd seen him with extra...money lying around. Or maybe taking bags of things with him when he leaves the house?"

Sam shrugged, "no...I haven't…" Oh god...Diana said he should start worrying if Mike began dressing funny. "But...but I can go ask him, y'know? He tells me stuff he doesn't tell you about, mom. Brother stuff," Sam lied. If Mike really was hanging out with body-snatching kidnappers, possibly serial killers, he wanted to be sure of it before he started freaking out about it.

Lucy nodded, "I'd...I'd appreciate that." She looked over at Nanook resting beside Sam, snout tucked between his front paws. "Come on, Nanook, I'll go get you fed," she called, patting her knee. The husky leapt from the mattress and padded off after her, leaving Sam alone with his thoughts, crafting one crazy idea after another about what was happening to his brother. He glanced over at the steamer trunk, frowning. There was that comic about vampires….nah, that was stupid.

* * *

Michael was stretched out on his bed like a tanned lion pelt, taking up as much of the mattress as humanly possible while he lay there, practically dead to the world around him. It was tough to get comfortable, but even tougher to rouse himself and get changed out of his clothes. For some reason he was tempted to just hang himself over the side of the bed and let his head brush against the ground, but he didn't. Because that would be stupid.

He had very short dreams, interspersed with waking moments where he could hear others in the house moving about and talking, voices a little too muffled to catch what was happening...and then something small, like a fly, would get so loud he thought it was buzzing around inside his head, taking up rent and raising a family. Holding reunions. Doing construction work on his brain and opening up a freeway. Or maybe that was just another funny dream.

Then he felt his bed shifting...deliriously, he wondered if his mattress was trying to eat him, and he tried to roll over, but the shifting only got worse. And the squeaking. And the high-pitched shouting in his ears from his little brother, who apparently had a death wish.

"Sam...stop…" Michael groaned into a pillow he'd shoved over his face. Blessed darkness blocking out the light filtering into the room, but doing nothing to stop the earthquake his brother was causing in the one place Michael thought he was safe from harassment. His own bed.

"Miiiiike, why are you wearing leather paaaaaaants?" Sam shouted, climbing to his feet and proceeding to throw himself into an all-out jump. "Wake up! Answer! Answer me, shit-head!" He continued jumping, until Michael lashed out with a leg and kicked him from the bed. Sam went sailing over the side with a panicked yelp, crashing to the floor.

"You're such an asshole!" He complained, snatching up a rolled up sock and throwing it at Michael, who threw the pillow right at him. Then reached over, grabbed a clock, and threw that at Sam too. Luckily, he was just swift enough to dodge and dive down below, grabbing a waste basket at the foot of Michael's bed and sending it flying.

In no time, Michael's room was a war zone, and even though his head was about to split in two from that stupid migraine he couldn't seem to shake, (it actually seemed like it was getting worse) they almost began to actually have fun with their little game...until the sharp corner of a book pinned Michael right in the eye.

" **FUCK! SAM!** " Michael leapt off of his bed with a growl, which was definitely weird, and tried to reach for his little brother's shirt collar so he could properly wail on him, when he heard something snarling and snapping it's jaws behind him…

Nanook was flying right towards Michael's neck.

"Nanook?!" Sam exclaimed, eyes widening in fear.

* * *

He was on his way up to have a talk with Michael when he heard it, Nanook growling lowly. He grabbed the first thing he could find, a pillow from the couch, and stuffed it into his belt to help protect him from the dog. He barged into the room, grabbing the husky by the collar and jerking back hard. The dog sprawled back with a yelp as Grandpa shoved him out the door, grabbing Sam by the arm and pushing him out with the fluffy dog, closing the door with a solid thud. He turned his attention to Michael, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We need to talk."

Michael stared back at him, incredulous, hand braced against his neck where a good chunk of skin had been torn...but he wasn't bleeding out too much, thank god. Didn't need to go to the hospital...he hoped. "I'm fucking bleeding from my neck, and that's all you have to say?! Sam's stupid dog almost killed me!"

"You'll be fine." He paused, "What's been going on with you? Hanging out with the wrong sort, aren't you, boy?" He stood by the door, arms crossed over his chest, pillow still tucked in his belt.

Michael scowled right back at him, not backing down even a little at the way his grandpa seemed to think he could be intimidated, "they're fine. They're my friends. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Coming home at all hours of the night, who's idea was the earring? The leather jacket? Pants, boots? Where'd you get the money for it all?" He looked him over, shaking his head, "Those boys are no good."

"So they bought me a few things," Michael shrugged, "they said they didn't steal anything...and I believed them. And summer's almost over, okay? Can't I have some fun for once in my life?!" He knew he was coming off like a spoiled brat, like a ten-year-old. This wasn't him at all. But...he wanted to defend David and the others. He almost felt protective of them. His grandpa didn't know what he was talking about. He was just some crazy old man who stuffed pooches and felt up desperate widows in his free time.

"Stay home for a few days, get your head together." He grumbled softly, "Don't be stupid, Michael. Talk to some people and get the story on these boys." He paused, "If I have to find a way to keep you home for a couple days I will." With that he turned and left, slamming the door behind him. He had a feeling he was going to have to find a way…

"I'm going out tonight, and you can't stop me!" Michael yelled after him, smacking the door, a low growl emanating from his chest, and then he immediately wanted to apologize. Shit...maybe grandpa was right. He'd...he'd get some more sleep and talk to him later. God, why was he being such an asshole? Why couldn't he stop himself? And...why was he acting like a dog?

Grandpa headed outside, tossing the pillow on the porch with a grumble. He needed to make sure Michael couldn't leave tonight because he knew the young man would try. Michael's bike was parked haphazardly in the driveway, kind of close to Grandpa's truck. It gave him an idea and while Michael might never forgive him for it he was doing this for his own good. He got into his truck, slamming the door and starting it up, before backing over Michael's poor motorcycle. The sound of crunching metal cut through the air, a loud sound in the otherwise quiet afternoon. He was sure that everyone heard it as he pulled forward and parked, getting out to look at the damage. The bike laid in a twisted pile, yep, Michael was going to be pissed.

* * *

To say that Max was angry would be an understatement. He needed to deal with the boys, David especially. He may have thought he was the leader, may think he's the big bad wolf, but Max was the boss, Max was the master, this was his city. Michael was supposed to be his! Not David's.

He strode into the hotel, sure that the boys hadn't taken off for the night. David was lounging in that ridiculous wheelchair, rocking back and forth slightly. The others were scattered around the room, Dwayne lounging on the ratty couch reading an old dogeared book, Marko and Paul were playing cards on the floor, but the moment Max stepped inside all eyes were on him.

"Well, hi, Max, how're you tonight? What brings you to our humble abode?" David grinned, spreading his hands in welcome.

"You're walking on the edge, David. Michael, Lucy, Sam, they're mine. The four of you? You're mine. This city is mine and you've seemed to forgotten that." He growled softly, crossing his arms over his chest.

The bleach blonde raised an eyebrow, "Yours? Hmm, I'm not quite sure about that." He glanced at the boys, "What do you think, Paul?"

The vampire in question laughed, "I dunno, what do you think, Marko?"

Marko grinned, "good question. How about you, Dwayne? This city Max's? Does everything belong to Max? I had no idea...Better yet, ask Star. Or that little brat Max had you babysitting."

Max snarled, lip curled back, "Enough!" These games they were playing, they were like dogs with a bone. Speaking of Star and Laddie, where were they? He scowled, "Where are Star and Laddie? I give you one job and you can't even do that right. I give you a pretty girl, a brother, and where are they? I tell you to feed my blood to Michael and what happens? You disobey me and feed him yours."

"Your glasses look dirty, Max," Dwayne remarked, not even bothering to pretend he was looking up from his book when he said it. "You'd better clean them."

The older vampire couldn't help himself, he pulled his glasses off and started cleaning them, trying to get every last spec of dust off them. He was angry, frustrated, and the boys weren't helping matters. Marko hopped to his feet, moving across the floor toward the older vampire. He bumped into him on his way toward Dwayne, knocking his glasses out of his hand.

"Oops, sorry." He laughed as Max dropped his glasses, fumbling as he tried to catch them.

"Why do you wear those things anyway? Going for the librarian look?" Daved asked, resting his cheek on his fist as Marko flopped onto Dwayne's legs, "I think you've pulled it off by the way, first class badass there."

"Something something...like an action star…" Paul contributed uselessly, taking a long pull from a special joint. Thinking wasn't too easy for him right now, but he probably...could have said something more clever.

"Shut up Paul, if you can't contribute, don't bother trying." Dwayne stated, finally glancing away from his book. He locked his eyes on Max, "Don't you have a woman to woo? I don't think she liked your attempt at dinner very much the other night."

Max snarled, grabbing his glasses off the ground and cleaning them, "this isn't over; you have one chance, get the other brother for me and don't screw it up." He snarled, turning and walking out, leaving the four boys on their own.

David shook his head, "Idiot. Who does he think he is? Dropping his glasses and not even having a good comeback? How can he think he has any power here? This is our domain." He paused, looking toward the door, "Where's Michael, he should have been here by now."

"Probably got funny ideas about you forcing those leather pants on him. Subtle, much?" Dwayne shrugged, looking back down at his book.

David snarled, showing his teeth, "He even thought he looked good in them. We'll give him the night, if he doesn't show up tomorrow we're going after him."

Paul looked around the room, reaching for something nobody else could see, snickering, "betcha his mommy got mad and locked him in the playpen."

"I...are you saying that because you're high, or are you making a joke?" Marko looked over at Paul, confused.

Paul giggled, actually giggled as he poked invisible dots in the air, "He's such a cute little baby! Mikey-poo…"

David laughed and shook his head, "Anyone have a tape recorder?"

"Paul broke the last one," Dwayne turned the page in his book. "Thought it was a chocolate bar…"

"Damn, this would be great blackmail material, we need to get another one next time we're in town." He paused, "Actually, let's go tonight." He got up, "Leave baby Pauly here, I'm going to get a new one."

* * *

Grandpa was sitting in his shed, looking out at Michael as he ate a forkful of mashed potatoes. The young man had decided he wanted to harass him through dinner while Sam and Lucy ate at the table, well, two could play at this game. He was sure Michael was still sore about his bike, it was for the best, he just didn't realize that yet.

"I can wait out here all night. All day. All week...just come on out and talk to me like a man, you old son of a…" Michael grumbled, trailing off. Mom was too close for him to get away with that kind of language. Unfortunately. But he had quite a few words to say, and none of them were of the PG variety.

"Like a man?" He let out a short bark of a laugh, "What do you want to talk about, boy? About your irresponsibility? About what's been going on with you? Running off in the middle of the night, sleeping all day, this is all on you, boy."

"SO YOU TOTAL MY BIKE?!" Michael exploded, squeezing his fork so tight he almost bent it.

"Didn't do it on purpose." He growled, violently stabbing a piece of pork chop, "You'll just have to suck it up and take it like a man."

The brunette speared a limp and heinously boiled carrot on his fork, bending the metal back to it's proper shape, and envisioned his grandfather on the receiving end. "I could say the same to you, you coward! Hiding from me because your pair got so old and wrinkled, they dried up and turned to dust."

The old man growled, "Why don't you come in here?" He huffed, knowing the reaction the oil would make him have, "There a problem? Can't come into my workshop?"

Michael squirmed, setting his plate on the ground. Honestly, just being so close to the doors was making him feel kind of sick, not that he saw the connection. And the forbidden room of which grandpa spoke was a fucking realm of innocent animal nightmares. "Maybe I will, huh?! Would you like that? How about I break down the doors too, and tear up your shit?!"

"MICHAEL! LANGUAGE!" Lucy shouted from the kitchen. "DON'T TALK TO YOUR GRANDFATHER LIKE THAT, EITHER!"

Lowering his head, Michael scooped his plate back up, "you're not worth it anyway," he sulked. "Old...bastard…" The last word, barely a whisper.

He let out a snort, watching him, "That's what I thought. You'll thank me later, boy, when you realize what's happening." His words were barely audible, he wasn't going to mention vampires, wasn't going to make him think old grandpa was crazier than he already thought he was.

Michael's snort echoed his grandfather's, and in that moment they were a lot more alike than either of them realized. "You'll thank me later when I…" he trailed off, screwing up his features and struggling to come up with a similar line, or a good threat. "...You're a dick."

Michael didn't hear the next words, only saw his mouth move, "I may be a dick but I'm still alive."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Lucy had a new concern. Michael was most likely on drugs...and...dad was going senile.


	4. Chapter 4: Nothing Lasts Forever

Author's notes:

 _Kage - This is becoming something awesome! This is so much fun to write._

 _Ran - Oh god, yes. How did we not start something like this way sooner?!_

* * *

That night, and the following day...were the worst night and day of Michael's life. He'd been scratching at the gauze on his neck all morning, even in his sleep, the headaches were getting worse...aspirin wasn't helping. Popping a couple of valium only made him a bit dizzier when he fell back into bed. And the whole time, he felt like the walls were closing in on him. Like he was being kept away from something important, something he _needed_ to be a part of.

But apparently mom and Sam had decided to leave him alone, since he'd been forced to stay home all night, and now they had this crazy idea that he was going through withdrawal. Once, mom had even tried to sit at his bedside and tell him about some friends she had back when she wore flowy shirts and listened to Janis Joplin records on repeat. He didn't catch much of it, but he'd heard the horror stories more than once when she caught him drinking back in Phoenix on more than one occasion. Even if it was just a couple of sips from one of dad's beers, which he'd been offered... _by_ dad…

Ugh. He just didn't want to think. Michael slammed his pillow over his head and tried to pray for the end of the day. When mom had finally left, he was able to go back to sleep...but then he got these awful stomach cramps...and that stupid dog kept clawing at his bedroom door, maybe to finish off what he'd started. What the hell was happening to him? He wished he'd never come to Santa Carla...or...no...he didn't wish that, then he wouldn't have met his brothers. Well, okay...that was weird...not brothers...where did that come from? He was just tired...really tired, and not thinking straight. Sam was his only brother. Even if he could be a little shit sometimes.

When night finally came, it couldn't have come quick enough. The headaches were finally gone again, and now all he had to worry about was the yawning pain in the pit of his stomach, and the feeling that he needed to get out of there. _Now_. But he couldn't...because his bike was trashed. The old bastard wasn't even sorry about it, either.

The boys circled around the fallen bike, looking down at it, waiting. Michael would know they were there, David knew the halfling could feel him. It was only a matter of time before he stepped outside and went with them. They would have to get his bike fixed or replace it, David knew Michael wouldn't accept a new one, but they could fix it. David could feel him inside, knew he was hungry, they might have to see about getting him fed soon, at the very least he needed more of David's blood, it would help the change and sate a little bit of that hunger. Now was the time to wait, Michael would be out soon.

Michael sat up in bed, suddenly alert. All of his thoughts about his family washed away in favor of a very odd feeling. Like he needed to go outside as soon as possible. Everything would be better if he just went outside. Everything would make sense.

For once this week, he'd actually had the chance to change out of his clothes, even soaked in a bubble bath that afternoon per Lucy's command. She thought it would somehow calm him down and keep him from actively trying to throttle his grandfather. Admittedly, he...he did like bubble baths. Wouldn't shout it to the sky; but behind closed doors, there was nothing wrong with a bit of aromatherapy.

At any rate, it took him several minutes to grab his clothes. It was a tough decision picking between his lucky jeans and the leather pants, and he really did want to wear the jeans...but he ended up settling on the others. They needed to be broken in more, anyway. Finally dressed and ready to go, he snuck downstairs and held his breath. The old man was probably still in his stupid workshop right now, just waiting to catch him making a break for it.

Well...he could just suck it. Michael poked out his chest and strutted to the front door, yanking it open and then immediately recoiling from the weird nausea he'd felt the last time he came inside. Jeeze, maybe this was a bad idea...he glared out across the porch and into the darkness. It was late. He knew that much...but it didn't really look that dark. He debated with himself whether the nausea had anything to do with leaving the house, maybe some kind of guilt complex...but he just couldn't ignore the feeling that he had to go. He had to go now. So, he took another breath, and he forced himself to jump out the door. The nausea hit him like a ton of bricks for just an instant before it disappeared altogether. There. That wasn't so hard...but what was he going to do now?

David looked up, feeling Michael nearby, knowing he'd left the house and was close enough to hear them, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to lay to rest a proud member of our family." He steepled his hands in front of him as if in prayer, "It lived a long life, carried our brother here, to us, where he belonged, but someone has crushed it, broken it. Let us pray." He snickered softly, gazing down at the bike.

Marko and Paul burst out laughing and Dwayne joined in quietly, "Perhaps it can be saved!" Marko exclaimed.

Dwayne shook his head, "Even if it could, does our brother want it restored to it's former glory? Perhaps made even better than before?"

"A man needs his steed!" He paused, "But does he want it?"

Michael crossed the porch, and it didn't even register him that he could hear them from so far away, but he let his feet carry him closer. The further he walked, the more comfortable he felt. Like this was where he needed to be. "You can rebuild it?" He called out, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets and drawing up to them with a sardonic half-smirk.

"We can rebuild it, make it better, stronger, faster!" Marko laughed, grinning at him.

"For you? Sure, more than happy to fix it for you, might take a couple nights but we'll make it even better than before." David paused, "You'll have to ride with me tonight though, gotta get you out of this house."

Michael's eyes flicked in the direction of their bikes, and then back to David. "So...let me get this straight...you want me...to ride bitch? Are you nuts?"

"You telling me you don't want to get out of here tonight? You want to stay?" David raised an eyebrow, "It's not like it would be forever, can't fix your bike in a few hours, it'll have to come home with us, and it's not like you can ride it as it is. Ergo, gotta ride bitch."

Pulling a hand out of his jacket pocket and running it through his hair, Michael sighed, "okay...I guess that makes sense. Still kinda mad at gramps for pulling that shit on me just because he didn't want me leaving the house. Alright. I'll ride bitch. Just don't make any stupid remarks, or I'm fucking gone. Okay?"

David held his hands up in a placating gesture, "None from me and if any of the others do I'll let you give 'em a black eye or two, sound fair?"

"Two? Yes. Okay." Michael nodded, chuckling softly.

The ride to the boardwalk was made in silence, at least for Michael, " _Behave yourselves tonight, gotta keep our brother happy, don't want him gone."_ David ordered, _"Got it, Paul, Marko?_ "

" _What? I'm always on my best behavior, Davey,_ " Paul mentally cooed.

" _We're fucking angels,_ " Marko agreed.

"Man, that would be awesome...can you imagine what their tits look like?" Paul exclaimed aloud, drawing a snicker out of Marko and an odd look from Michael.

David scowled, "I didn't even get that one, weirdo." He parked his bike in their usual spot, looking around, taking in the sight of a packed boardwalk, "Gonna be a good night tonight, boys!"

Michael climbed off of the bike the second it stopped, and looked at them, curiously. "You have something in mind, or is that just a general statement?"

"Mostly a general one, thought we could go harass some surf nazis, I'm taking request tonight, so if there's something you've been wanting to do, speak up!"

"Just putting this out there, I wanna get laid tonight," Marko replied, breaking into a large grin.

"Good luck with that one, midget," Dwayne snorted.

"Michael, what about you? Anything you've been _dying_ to do?" David grinned at him, blue eyes bright with anticipation, "Otherwise we're gonna go to the beach and find us some nazis." David really wanted one of them to be Michael's first kill but he had a plan and it would require some work and time to set up, might as well get started now.

Well, no sense in trying to argue with grandpa's logic now. The way David made it sound, Michael finally reached the obvious conclusion. They were definitely a gang. But...well, as long as they didn't commit any serious crimes when they were hanging out, he guessed he could just let it slide. "There was that one guy who kicked sand in my face. Kinda been thinking about finding him and beating his ass," he replied. "So I guess that works with what you were planning?"

David nodded, "Alright, let's take a walk."

He headed for the stairs that would lead down to the beach, taking them past the comic book store and the video store. Those crazy brothers were watching them again and it was always fun to go by Max's especially since he essentially let David dominate him, hell, he let all the boys get one over on him except Paul who was too high to remember anything.

* * *

"I'm not paying that much for this! It's a reprint, for god's sake!" Diana fumed inside the comic shop, tossing an issue at the Frog brothers and storming outside. They always tried to sell her crap just because she was a girl. Well, no more! She'd actually done her research this time. She wanted to get Sam something really nice for their 3-day anniversary, and-...her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, when she saw them together...all four...no, wait. All five! And the fifth one definitely looked like he fit in…

Oh man, she was going to have to tell Sam...maybe she'd add it as an addendum to her love letter at home. Telling him to his face would break his heart. She knew it'd break hers if her brother ever got taken over by body-snatching bikers. Poor guy.

* * *

David stepped down onto the sand, feeling it slide under his boots. They were in luck, a group of four surfers were drinking beers around a bonfire. He grinned, spotting the one Michael had talked about, the one who kicked sand at him, this was going to be fun and they wouldn't even have to resort to violence!

He strolled over to them, the others following, "Well, what do we have here?"

One of them turned to face them, laughing, "This ain't your turf bro, think you're in the wrong place. Don't you have some of those little kiddie bikes to ride? I hear they rent 'em up on the boardwalk." It was sand kicker who spoke up first.

Michael narrowed his eyes, taking a step forward.

"Hey, that's the trashman." He grinned at Michael, "Yeah, you were out here picking up garbage, is that how you found those guys? Pick them up like the rest of the garbage?"

" _Be nice, Marko. Behave, Marko…_ " Marko mentally mimicked David, pouting and crossing his arms.

"Only garbage I saw out there was you, just didn't have a big enough bag. Since you're a sack of shit anyway, didn't think I'd need one," Michael snapped back.

David glanced at Marko, " _Since when did I say you can't mock them? Just not Mikey, yet._ " He grinned, pleased with Michael's retort.

The nazi glared at him, "Think you're so tough? Bet you just follow them around little a little bitch; you their bitch?"

Paul cringed, " _Ouch, we gonna let him eat tonight?_ "

David shook his head, " _No, Dwayne, make sure he doesn't._ "

Michael's upper lip curled, and just as he was about to launch himself, Dwayne grabbed him by the back of the collar.

" _On it_ ," Dwayne replied, looking back at the Surf Nazi with a sneer. "We could just let him make you his bitch, since you're so hot on it."

The nazi snarled, jerking forward to throw a punch only to have his buddies pull him back. He shook them off, glaring, "You know what, you're not worth it, bitch." He turned and started walking away, the others following, leaving the fire burning.

David pulled out a silver flask, taking a small drink. He wasn't too big on the taste of his own blood but Michael needed to know it was 'safe', "Easy, come on, take a deep breath, have a drink." He held the flask out to the halfling, with his hyped up and angry state now was the perfect time.

Michael was sorely tempted to shove Dwayne off of him and go after the guy, but...the minute David opened that flask, the most incredible scent assaulted his nostrils. Something so much more tempting than picking a fight. Without even pausing to thank David or nod at him, his hand lashed out and snatched the flask away, pressing it to his lips. He closed his eyes and drank deep. It was the same wine they'd given him before, but this time it tasted even better. It made the roaring pain in his stomach ease, and his head seemed to clear. And the euphoria that followed was so intense, he could barely remain standing. There wasn't a drop left by the time he was done, and he just wanted to lie down in the sand and relax into the feel of the wine pooling in his stomach, satiating and calming him.

David grinned, taking the empty flask from him before maneuvering Michael so that he could support him, "Feelin' good? Yeah, bet you are, wouldn't you like this forever?" His voice was soft as he lead him back to the stairs so they could sit down for a little while, let Michael get his bearings so they could head back to the hotel..

Michael leaned into him, shaking his head, blinking bleary eyes, "damn. You sure that's wine?"

David nodded sagely, "Yeah, the best kind ever, hard to get too."

Once they'd settled down, Michael was rubbing at his face, "nothing lasts forever. Gotta grow up some time," he slurred.

David shook his head, "And if you could live forever? What then?"

Michael shrugged, head lolling back as he looked up at the stars. They looked so bright tonight. Brighter than he'd ever seen them. "I dunno. Sure. Long as it doesn't cost me anything, I guess."

"What kind of price would you pay? What about the sun? Aren't the stars pretty tonight?" His voice was soft, cajoling.

The combination of the wine, the stars, and David's voice were doing a number on his head. Probably because it seemed like it had been so long since he wasn't fighting a crippling migraine. But it didn't really matter. It felt nice...calming….Michael closed his eyes and thought about David's question. Seemed like he was staying up all night constantly anyway. The sun didn't seem like such a big deal right now...and he was right...the stars really did look nice. "Yeah, I guess so. I'd give up the sun. If I could live forever, why not?"

David's smile grew, "Good to know. Let me know when you're ready to go back to the hotel." He glanced at Dwayne, " _go snag Michael's bike so we can work on fixing it._ "

Dwayne nodded, standing up and dusting off his pants, " _you think he really means it? Probably going to be a little upset when this is all said and done…_ "

" _He means it right now; we'll see how he feels later. Can always use this against him. He's going to remember this._ "

* * *

Grandpa was angry. The moment Michael came home, riding on the back of that bleach blonde's bike, he knew there was no reasoning with him. He was going to have to take drastic measures. In his workshop he had just the thing for this situation. With a soft grunt, he pulled a large, dusty cross out from behind a cougar he had recently stuffed. If Michael wasn't going to keep himself home and ride this out until he could find the head vampire and save him, then he would just have to make him stay.

Michael didn't so much as move as he began hammering the cross into the ceiling. Once it was secure he went back to his workshop and pulled out a couple others, placing one on the door and the other by the window. Once he was content with his work he brushed his hands together and went back to his workshop, only stopping briefly in the kitchen for root beer and Oreos.

* * *

Sam shoved a fistful of popcorn in his mouth and hurriedly licked the butter from his fingers, tucking the bowl under his arm as he walked past Michael's bedroom door...and then he had to stop and take a few steps back, peering inside.

"What…the…" his eyes scanned the room, taking in the sight. "Mike, you going all Southern Baptist on us?" He called out to his brother, strolling towards the end of Michael's bed and nudging at one of his boots. Jeeze, he really needed to stop hanging out with those guys. They were probably dealing or stealing, maybe even both, if they were supplying his brother with nice junk like that. Diana had mentioned something about them when she dropped off her love letter that morning, Sam just hadn't gotten around to reading it.

"Mike? Miiiiiiike?" Sam set his popcorn bowl down and grabbed both of Michael's feet, shaking them, "wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up, waaaaake up!"

No response. Not really that surprising, as weird as Michael had been acting. He deserved a little payback for being such a dumbass. Plus, Sam still hadn't forgotten his fading shiner. But what was he going to do? His eyes quickly scanned the room until he settled on a small box tucked under Michael's bedside table, packed with odds and ends...and a plastic cord hanging out…

Sam rubbed his hands together, a goofy open-mouthed smile forming on his face as he crept towards the box…

* * *

Michael stirred in his sleep. It felt like he was being weighed down by something above him, something to his left, and something to his right...he wanted to climb back against the only safe place he could find: his headboard. But he just couldn't summon up the strength to move...and for an instant, he thought he heard Sam calling out to him. Thought he felt his feet moving...but he ignored it, and sank back into a deep sleep…

Until violent rock music blasted into his ears from a set of headphones clamped over his head, "FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK!" Michael surged forward, yanking the headphones off and diving over the side of the bed, then scrambling beneath it and yanking his comforter with him in one swift movement.

"Oh, Mike...you're awake…" Sam called out innocently from above, laughing.

"You little bastard!" Michael snarled, using one free arm to swipe out at his brother's ankles from beneath the bed like an angry cat. But Sam just laughed even more and scrambled away, running out of Michael's bedroom door.

He had half a mind to follow, but...he was still...really tired. Michael scowled out from under the safe darkness beneath his bed, and plotted his revenge just before drifting off back to sleep.

Grandpa scowled, looking into the room and not seeing Michael but seeing Sam running down the stairs, "Sam, what did you do? Where's your brother?" He headed down the stairs after the blonde, "Sam, don't run off when I'm talkin' to you."


	5. Chapter 5: The First Kill

Author's notes:

 _Kage - This is becoming an obsession! I'm not complaining though, it's so much fun!_

 _Ran - Let's be honest. It probably already was an obsession._

* * *

Two nights. It had been two nights since Michael had come to them and David was getting frustrated. They hadn't done anything that would drive him away but something was keeping him at that house, with those humans. They had fixed his bike, made it even better than before, he would be able to keep up with them better now. David decided that he would have to take the bike to Michael since he didn't seem to be coming out of that damn house.

Michael's bike roared to life making David smirk, of course he was going to give it a test drive before returning it. Since Michael couldn't be bothered to come visit them he would just have to give him some incentive. He spun the bike, taking off toward Michael's home, well, his old home if David had anything to say about it.

He pulled up in front of the house, spinning the bike in the driveway once, sending gravel scattering across the ground. He put her in a place of honor, somewhere she wouldn't get run over and yet was visible from Michael's window. The halfling would know David was there, probably even heard the bike. The bike was the lure, he was sure Michael was suffering being away from them for so long and not getting any of David's blood in him. It would be good punishment for staying away, although part of him didn't want to make the brunette suffer.

He sighed, leaving the bike there before taking off, he kind of wanted to stay and see Michael's reaction to his bike but it would be better to head to the boardwalk and hope he showed up. Michael needed to come to them, not the other way around, it had to be his choice, or at least he had to think it was his choice. He went back to the hotel to corral the boys, tonight would be a good night, he could feel it.

* * *

Sam sat at the kitchen table munching on a bowl of cereal for dinner, scanning the contents of the back of the box, because he was still sadly deprived of comic rights for the next few days. No TV. No comics. That letter his new girlfriend had given him made him wonder if he was dating a nutcase. Mike hiding under his bed like a dust bunny. Things were pretty rough lately.

Lucy rushed through the kitchen, gathering up her purse and leaning over to kiss Sam on the forehead, "now, Sam, I know it's going to be a little rough on you boys with Max giving me these night shifts lately, and I'm going to need you to keep an eye on your brother. I think he might have the flu, and I'll have to talk to your grandpa about taking him to the clinic tomorrow if he isn't feeling any better. Has he woken up yet? Or is he still refusing to leave his room?"

Sam glanced up at her, "he's under his bed, mom. Won't come out. Said something about a headache...I think he needs a brain doctor."

"Don't say that about your brother," Lucy scolded, rushing out of the kitchen, "just make sure he stays home tonight!

"Gotcha!" Sam called after her, drinking the milk from his cereal bowl and tossing the spoon behind him into the kitchen sink, then cupping his hands over his mouth to make crowd cheering noises. "And he's done it! Samuel Emerson has won the championship!"

"SAM!" Michael shouted from his room. "SAM! HELP!"

Sam jerked up, scrambling from his chair and darting out of the kitchen.

* * *

Michael huddled on the ground beside his bed, draped in his comforter and glaring at the cross beside his bedroom door, when Sam finally arrived on the scene, out of breath and looking like he thought the house was on fire.

"Wh...what's w...wrong?" Sam panted, clutching at his stomach and leaning over.

"...Sam...did you put that on my door? I don't like it." Michael nodded towards the cross affixed to the wood, scowling darkly.

"What? That?" Sam eyed the cross, "uh...Mike...It's just a cross."

"It's stupid. I don't want it there. Take it down."

"Why can't you do it yourself?" Sam crossed his arms and leaned against the side of the door frame, resenting that he'd been called over just for something stupid like this.

Michael was silent, not sure of what to say. Not even sure why he even cared. But just looking at it, and the one on his window, and the one above him...it made him feel claustrophobic. And it made him angry, too, because it meant either Sam or grandpa thought they could just come and decorate his room when he was sleeping whenever the hell they felt like it.

"I don't see what the big deal is. It's been there for two days. Grandpa probably put it up to teach you a lesson, since you're apparently a crack-weasel gangster wannabe now. Tell me the truth, Mike...are you mainlining pixie sticks? Inquiring minds want to know," Sam snickered at his own joke.

If he had the energy right now, he would have back-handed his dork of a brother, but honestly, Michael felt like no matter how much sleep he got, he felt worse and worse. The nights. The days. Just looking at those things exhausted him. He knew it was wrong, on some level. Probably even a mortal sin to call a cross ugly...but that's what they looked like to him. Garish, tacky, and...something else. It was like they made the room painfully bright. Maybe it was the way the hallway and bedroom light reflected off of them, or maybe it was just the migraines playing tricks on his head. Whatever the reason, he was convinced if Sam just took the one on his door down, it wouldn't bother him so much anymore. Plus, he desperately wanted to leave the house. And he felt like he couldn't even get near his door if something wasn't done about that cross.

Michael unwrapped the comforter from around himself and tossed it at Sam, "just...drape that over the door, okay?"

"...Why?"

"DO IT!" Michael shouted, practically threatened him.

Sam just rolled his eyes and flung the comforter over the door, effectively covering the cross, "there. Happy, asshole?"

 _Oh god, yes!_ Michael could finally breathe a little bit better. Without even giving Sam a minute to register his reaction, he was tearing out of his bedroom door like he had the devil on his tail, and scrambling down the hall.

"Mike, what the hell?!" Sam called after him, slamming Michael's bedroom door shut, jamming the comforter tightly in the frame.

"I'm getting the hell out of here," Michael tossed back over his shoulder.

"Mike, you can't! Mom told me to keep an eye on you!" Sam protested, picking up speed, tempted to launch himself at his brother if that's what it took to get his attention. He was acting crazy.

"Look, Sammy, I just...I've got to leave, okay? I can't explain it. I just don't want to be here right now. I'm going stir crazy," Michael sighed, slowing down and creeping past grandpa Emerson's work shop door, not wanting to get caught sneaking out again. No telling what he'd do, if trashing Michael's bike was just a 'warning'. The old man was inside, all of his attention on the long pieces of wood in his hands, he was making something, sharpening them with a pocket knife. Were those stakes? What was he doing?

Sam's eyes widened, "you can't leave! You're sick! You need to go to the doctor, Mike!" He hissed, sneaking past the workshop door as well, though he had no reason to. Grandpa just kind of gave him the creeps.

When they'd reached the front door, Michael spun around to face his little brother and pull him into a headlock, "tell you what, dork...you keep quiet, I'll even take you with me to buy you some comics, huh? Make up for that black eye? Promise I'll come home with you tonight, and mom doesn't even have to know. How about it?"

Sam struggled in the headlock, punching ineffectively at Michael's ribs and squealing, "you better not be bullshitting me, Mike!" He gasped, stomping on Michael's foot and causing his brother to rear back with a shout, before quickly muffling his mouth to keep it from getting out.

"You little…" Michael growled, before Sam laughed and yanked the door open, dashing outside. There was an instant of nausea when Michael followed him through the threshold, but it quickly disappeared in light of the noogy torture he was about to dish out…

* * *

" _Tonight's the night, boys._ " David grinned, looking at the other three, " _We're gonna make sure he has his first kill tonight and he'll even think it was his idea_."

Marko scowled, " _How is it gonna be his idea?_ "

" _How do you think?_ " Dwayne rolled his eyes, " _All that work on the surf nazis we've been doing the past few nights, it's all been for this._ "

Marko scratched the back of his head, " _We gonna start a fight?_ "

Paul laughed, " _Hey, look who caught on! So, where we gonna do it? Beach, alley, bar?_ "

" _Beach, less people, although they might start the fight, so we have to be prepared regardless. Let's hope Michael gets his ass here soon._ "

Speak of the devil, Michael seemed to be arriving right on cue with an extra passenger behind him clinging to him like a lifeline. Sam was never very good at riding behind Mike. He tended to scream his head off. Thankfully, with the promise of comics dancing in his head, he was able to keep his mouth shut. For now.

Pulling to a stop, Michael hopped off, "hey...uh, thanks for fixing my bike up."

David grinned, "Our pleasure, we made a few improvements too."

Michael laughed, "yeah...I noticed. Looks like the only thing you left behind was the frame."

"These are the guys, Mike?" Sam asked, sneaking up behind his brother and frowning. He didn't like the look of them the first time, and definitely didn't like the look of them now.

" _Ooooo, wrench in the plans, huh, Davey?_ " Paul grinned, wiggling his fingers in a condescending little wave in Sam's direction.

" _Of course not, just have to adapt a little._ " He glanced at Sam, "This your brother?" David glanced at the boys, " _In fact, this could work in our favor. Keep Max off our backs._ "

"Yeah, this is my brother. Sam, this is David, Paul, Dwayne...and…" Michael paused. "Mark?"

"No," Marko shook his head. "I'm Steve," he held out a hand for Sam to shake, but was sadly left hanging. "No? Nothing? I'm hurt. Thought we were all gonna be pals."

David chuckled, "Oh, we are. Alright, Sam, what do you want to do tonight?"

" _Why ask him?_ " Paul grumbled softly, " _Bet the pipsqueak doesn't even do anything fun._ "

"Come on, Sammy boy, what do you want to do tonight?" Marko was chewing on the thumb of his glove again.

Sam wrinkled his nose, "uh...Mike said we were going to grab a few comic books…"

Michael ruffled his brother's hair, "Sam likes cartoons," he shrugged.

"Well, let's head that way, give you some cash, and you can get whatever you want while we hang out a little bit, how does that sound?" And it would take them past the video store too, Max could think they were getting Sam to join the pack and they could get rid of the little brat with no problem.

"Is it drug mon-" Sam was cut off when Michael pinched his neck and gave him a dark glare.

"Shut up, Sam."

"Why would we waste perfectly good drugs on money?" Paul snickered, winking at Sam and glancing over at David, " _so...guess eating him is a no go, huh?_ "

Dwayne gave him his patented, are you an idiot, look, " _What do you think, dumbass?_ "

"We don't deal in drugs, little man." Marko punched Paul's arm.

"Paul is an idiot, come on, let's go get you some comics." David strolled away, expecting the others to follow.

* * *

Max smiled, watching Lucy as she worked. It was nice things were finally going his way. Now he just needed to make sure his boys were trying to get Sam and he needed to find a way to get his blood into Lucy. She was helping a few of the locals pick out one of the new releases when he felt them. David and the others were coming. He glanced out the window, spotting David and the boys with...well, would you look at that, not just Michael but Sam was with them. Things really were looking up! Although Sam didn't look too happy about being there, they would have to work on that.

New customers were heading in. He scowled slightly, it was those...brothers. A soft grumble escaped his lips, he was not in the mood to deal with their desire to be vampire hunters. They honestly didn't know what they were dealing with. If he wanted to he could take them out, he nodded to himself, yes, he could if he wanted to.

"Alan, you take the back flank, I'll take the port," Edgar grunted, to which his brother nodded with a stern glare towards the romantic drama section. They had a mission today, a mission that could not be put off. One movie for Ed, and one for Alan...research, of course. Dirty Dancing just happened to be a bonus.

"Something I can help you boys with." He gave them a weak smile, really didn't want them in his store.

"Yes," Edgar Frog growled, stalking towards Max with a very firm set to his shoulders, "me and my associate, slash brother, slash fellow hunter are looking for…" he lowered his voice conspiratorially and leaned closer, " _vampire movies._ "

He nodded, "They would be over here." He lead them to the horror section, "We have a few choices, take your time." He motioned to the videos on display. Oh how he wanted to get away from the two cretins.

Edgar reached out to grab at Max's shirt cuff, "you know Santa Carla's crawling with them. The undead. Bloodsuckers. Creatures of the night. They're everywhere, and we're here to protect people like you from them."

He blinked at them, "Excuse me? Are you sure you boys are alright?"

Alan drew up behind Max, blocking him in, "he's right. Vampires...they're not just fairy tale monsters your mother tells you when she puts you to bed at night."

"They're real. And they're right here," Edgar dug under his camouflage jacket to yank out a rolled-up vampire comic, one of several he'd pawned off to Max over the summer, "you call us if you need us." He shoved the comic at Max's chest.

Meanwhile, Alan held up a copy of Dirty Dancing alongside a copy of Moonstruck, "are you sure you just want to rent one of them tonight?"

Max took the comic, he needed to see what kinds of dribble they were peddling, "Please, let us know if you need anything else." He moved away from them as quickly as was polite but depending on what was in this comic, they might prove to be a problem.

* * *

David pulled out a small wad of folded up money, snagging a twenty and handing it to Sam, "Here, as many as you can get with this." They were almost to the comic book store and David was looking forward to dumping the kid and getting on with their night. He had plans and Sam wasn't going to ruin them.

Sam eagerly took the cash, shoving it into his pocket with an open-mouthed smile.

"That enough? You need more?" David had no idea how much these things cost.

He was half-tempted to lie about it and demand a cool hundred, but Sam was unfortunately not a con artist, so he just shrugged, "I'm good. Won't be long, okay, Mike?" He patted his older brother on the shoulder and skipped off towards the comic shop.

David shook his head, looking at Michael, "Ready? I'm sure little Sammy'll find us when he's ready to go, gonna go down to the beach."

Michael watched Sam heading towards the comic shop and scratched the back of his head, "mom would kill me if she found out I went out tonight...and she'd dig me up and kill me again if she found out I ditched Sam here, too."

Marko snorted, "She's not gonna find out, we're not gonna be gone that long. Kid's old enough, he can take care of himself."

The bleach blonde clapped a hand on his shoulder, "All good, see, Sam'll find us, he can see where we're going. Don't worry so much, we're gonna have a good time." He grinned, guiding him toward the stairs.

There were those two idiots. His lip curled, at least they would keep Sam occupied in the comic store.

When Edgar and Alan passed them, Edgar's jaw nearly dropped in shock, and he clung closer to his brother, whispering into his ear. Alan nodded several times, shoving Edgar ahead of him towards the safety of their comic shop. They didn't have any crosses to defend them, and they weren't on their own turf...not a good idea to announce their expertise at staking the undead, if their theories about the Lost Boys were even remotely true.

Michael watched them leave, quirking an eyebrow, "a lot of people sure seem pretty scared of you guys. What'd you do? Burn down a church?"

Dwayne shook his head, "Paul did once, he was smoking pot in the confessional and dropped his joint, the asshole."

Shaking his head, Michael couldn't help but give Paul a very concerned look, "you...you really need to get some help, if it's that bad."

"We don't let him around churches or anything that could set fire, I swear he has an obsession with it." Marko grinned, "He's strictly a stone guy now." Laughs at his own joke.

"Mostly," Paul grinned. "Sometimes, though...little of this...little of that...you should try it some time. Dwayne loved it. Saw purple gnomes for weeks, didn't you, Dwayney?"

Dwayne glared at him, "Go jump in the ocean." He growled lowly as they stepped out onto the sand.

Michael still wasn't really sure what he thought about Paul. He hoped the gnomes were an exaggeration. Especially considering how Star had acted, the last time he saw her. Speaking of which...he hoped she was okay. Maybe she'd gotten help or something…

David's eyes narrowed, he shouldn't be thinking of Star, not ever. She was long gone and was never coming back. He was just going to have to accept that.

Someone was coming, well, four someones. He grinned, they were going to get the fight they wanted. It was almost worth the punches he was going to have to endure for Michael to snap.

Paul frowned, looking around at the others and then narrowing his eyes at Marko, " _there's five of us. I'm not sharing._ " There was just a hint of a threat there. Just a hint. It was fairly common for the two to get into fights over their meals when there wasn't enough to go around, mainly because neither could take on Dwayne, and neither wanted to get on David's bad side either. It wasn't pretty.

" _What? You think Mike's gonna share? I bet he's gonna wind up eating two of 'em!_ " Marko snarled back.

" _You're getting a little chubby, Marko. I just think you need to sit this one out, that's all,_ " Paul narrowed his eyes, on the verge of starting a fight before the real fun even started.

Dwayne looked at both of them, " _You know if Michael gets two, that means neither of you gets one, right?_ "

Paul paused in thought, then looked back over at David, " _you sure you want tonight to be his first? Can't push it off until there's a party or something?_ " He asked hopefully.

David glared at him, " _Tonight, it needs to happen, that old man is suspicious and Mike's kind of past the point of no return._ " He paused, " _We can go find you a nice happy meal afterward, maybe it'll even have a toy in it just for you._ "

" _...Dick,_ " Paul grumbled, kicking at a clump of sand. Michael jumped away from his firing range.

* * *

Sam flipped through comic after comic, looking over at Edgar and Alan Frog every once in awhile. This time around, they weren't really too focused on him. Maybe they'd seen the light and realized just how cool he really was. That was okay. It took some people longer than others to understand what real style looked like.

Trailing down the shelf, the...horribly mismanaged shelf...Sam snatched up a Thor comic and flipped it over, examining the condition of the back cover, while he heard the Frog brothers whispering (very loudly) at the counter.

"They've got the typical signs. Long nails…" Edgar grunted.

"Yeah, long nails," Alan agreed. "I was pretty close to one of them once, and I'm pretty sure his breath was like rotten...things. So, bad breath. That's another sign."

"Uhuh," Edgar nodded quickly, pulling a few comics out of a box and shoving them into another beside his feet. Sam frowned, noticing how violent he was with the print. These guys really shouldn't be running a comic shop.

"And there's all those stories, too. 'Lost Boys'. They're the only bikers you ever see around here...I bet you they kill others when they show up," Edgar continued, warming up. Sam's eyebrows shot up...bikers? Mike's friends were bikers. And...Diana had said something about them, too. In fact, her crazy letter had practically screamed they were trying to get Mike to join their gang. He stepped a little closer, straining to listen.

"Think about it. Mom said they used to hang around when she was a kid, right? And they're the same people? I'm telling you, Alan, they're bloodsuckers. It's the only explanation."

"Well...yeah. I wasn't arguing with you, Edgar. I know they're bloodsuckers."

"And did you see the new guy with them? You think he's going to disappear, just like the 'others' people see them with?"

"Looked like he was one of them, to me," Alan replied darkly. "Gonna need to stock up on more stakes."

Sam bit his tongue, squealing and covering his mouth before dropping the comic he held to the ground. The Frog brothers turned to glare at him, and he practically knocked over a comic rack as he dashed from the building in the direction he'd seen Michael and his friends go. The 'Lost Boys'...

* * *

"Hey! Asshole!" One of the surf nazi's swung, his fist impacting with the side of Michael's head. He stumbled forward with an abrupt yelp, nearly falling to his knees. Staring down at the sand, Michael saw spots of his own blood melt into the ground…

Marko bobbed on his heels, " _are we doing it now? Can we start? Huh? Huh?_ "

One of the others pegged David across the jaw, making him bite his lip. The smell would help rouse Michael's beast and wouldn't that be a sight to see, " _Not yet, when he goes for it we can take care of business._ " He growled, licking blood from his lips as he smiled maniacally at the surf nazis, "Is that all you've got?"

It was Dwayne's turn to take a hit but the dark vampire wasn't about to let that happen, he dodged to the side, making a show of falling beside Michael, "Dammit." He hissed out between clenched teeth, glancing at the brunette, "Come on, Michael, do it."

Talking to him right now was pointless. He couldn't hear them. Couldn't hear anything beyond the sound of blood rushing in his ears, and the migraine finally seeming to crumble away as if something inside his head was breaking out. He drug a tongue along his bottom lip, tasting his own blood as he slowly tilted his head up to glare at the bastard who'd punched him. And while Michael saw a meal, the Surf Nazi saw a monster.

With a snarl, Michael launched himself at his former assailant and future meal, digging claws into his shoulders and pulling him close. The more he struggled, the deeper Michael dug his claws, the beast in control delighting in the sound of screams echoing around him. And the crashing waves. And the rushing blood.

David grabbed the one who punched him, tossing him at Marko, wanting to focus on Michael. He could go without one tonight, this was better than a meal, "Dig in boys." He grinned darkly, looking back the way they'd come, hearing the frantic pounding of a scared heartbeat.

"MIKE!" Sam shouted, feet pounding on the sand as he rushed down the shoreline, cupping his hands over his mouth, "MIKE, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The other boys had subdued their prey, Dwayne making sure that one stayed alive in case Michael was still hungry. They were always hungry in the beginning. David stood beside their newest pack member, watching and waiting, enjoying the screams, and the way Michael was holding him tightly, newly grown claws digging in.

"Come on, Michael, you know you want it, need it, take it all." His voice was low and seductive as he watched the tableau unfold before him, his gaze turning to follow the sound of the voice calling for his new fledgling.

Michael blinked, shaking his head once, like he could hear someone calling out to him...someone important. But he was too hungry to stop. Couldn't even begin to force himself to think beyond the pain and the need clawing at his insides, as he pulled the struggling man even closer, sniffing at the skin and letting his tongue dart out to taste and trace the line of the prominent artery in the man's neck. The voice kept calling, and then another one pushed it out...another one much closer, much more comforting.

Sam finally came into view in the distance, just barely able to pick out the group up ahead. "MIKE?!" He shouted, waving his arms, picking up his pace...and that's when he saw his brother crouching over a man...but he couldn't really make out much else. Still...there was something wrong… "MIKE, STOP!"

"Easy, it's so close, you can practically taste it." David crouched down beside him, slowly drawing a claw over the neck of his soon to be victim, barely splitting the skin, "It's all on you, Michael. Do you want to stop the burning? The pain in your gut that crawls up your throat." He paused, licking the blood off his claw, "Or, will you ride it out and suffer?" He glanced toward Sam, if the teen kept flailing around like that he might draw Michael's attention and that would just spoil the fun.

The smell of the blood oozing from the cut sent Michael's senses on overdrive, and even if he could make out who was screaming his name, or even if he tried to stop himself...he just couldn't. Snarling, Michael dug his fangs deep into the flesh of the Surf Nazi's neck, and the sheer ecstasy of the blood finally...finally...soothing his pain and his hunger...it was a symphony.

"Mike!" Sam screamed again, even closer now. Close enough to see the carnage. Close enough to make out what his brother was doing to the person in his arms. In the moment, though, Michael wouldn't have even recognized his own mother.

David stayed in his place crouched down beside their newest pack member. It couldn't have gone better, in a way having little Sammy follow them was a boon. He wouldn't have to wonder why Michael disappeared, he got to witness it first hand. The leader of the Lost Boys stayed a little between the brothers, prepared to guide Michael away from the blonde twerp if he decided he looked like a tasty meal. Dwayne was nearby, holding onto the last struggling surf nazi in case Michael was still hungry, which was highly likely. Paul and Marko were still fighting over their kill, Dwayne had already finished his.

There was the sound of tearing and then Marko started to whine, "What'd you do that for?"

Paul raised the newly ripped off arm into the air, "So I could do this!" He swung, slapping Marko across the face with the borrowed hand.

"You son of a bitch!" Marko pounced him, growling as they began rolling in the sand.

David rolled his eyes, turning his gaze on Sam, "So, Sammy, now you know what we are and now you know what your brother is. What are you going to do about it?"

It was all coming together in Sam's mind, the pieces of the puzzle he should have connected in the first place: the warnings from the Frog brothers and Diana, the crosses in Mike's room he couldn't bear to even touch or look at, the fact that he was hardly awake longer than ten minute increments throughout the day...how could he have been so stupid? How could Mike have been so stupid?!

"It's not...it's a trick," Sam shook his head furiously. "Mike wouldn't...he couldn't do something like this! I'm going to...I'm..." Sam was on the verge of screaming now, he didn't even know what he could do. His knees so weak he could feel them losing their strength by the second. He did the only thing he could think of in the moment, and held his fingers together in front of him in the shape of a cross, refusing to look over at the evidence of what Michael had done...of what he'd become…

By now Michael had dropped his victim, drained and pale on the sand. The scent of more life in the air drew his attention, and his eyes darted back and forth between the man in Dwayne's grasp, and then Sam...who he could barely even recognize in the moment. Right now there was no Michael...only hunger.

" _C'mon, let Mikey go wild. Let's see who he goes for, huh? My money's on the twerp,_ " Marko grinned, having yanked the arm from Paul's grasp and started to thwack him across the face in the short instant he could keep the other vampire pinned. His mood immediately shifted when he felt Paul's fangs sink into his actual arm.

David stayed close, ready to intervene if he went for Sam but just as curious as the others who he would go after, the easy meal or the happy meal with legs, "No trick and sorry but your fingers aren't a real cross, not going to help you." He paused for a moment, "And I suggest not running or screaming or doing anything really that could draw his attention because damn, he's a hungry one." He looked slightly wistful, "I think I went through three my first time, Marko was a pig, he ate five before finally falling asleep." Marko was too focused on beating Paul, trying to get him to release his arm, to pay attention to David's jokes at his expense. He looked over at Michael, "Which do you want? The runt or the big man?"

Perhaps it was some part of Michael fighting to remember in the moment who he was, or perhaps it was just dumb luck, but it took only an instant for him to decide. Sam had to press his hands to his mouth to keep himself from screaming bloody murder and drawing the attention of the monster that once was his brother, as Michael happily tore the easy meal from Dwayne's grasp and dug in. This time, tearing even more viciously at the flesh around his victim's jugular, now that he was getting the hang of it. Bits of pink skin still clung under his claws while he sank to the sand and struggled to keep too much of the precious blood from pouring around his mouth.

In that moment, despite the warning, Sam scrambled back several steps, hands still clamped over his mouth, trying his best to walk as briskly as possible without actually drawing Michael's attention. He had to get help. He had to find someone who knew what to do...maybe those weirdos at the comic shop. The issue they'd given him said there wasn't a cure once a shit-sucker made their first kill, but...what if there was a corrected sequel? What if...what if the Frogs knew something that knock-off company of Marvel didn't?! He had to try!

David looked down at Michael as he got to his feet, "Taste good? Feel better?" He hoped the fledgling would get drowsy so they could bring him home. It was easier to manipulate the newly turned and there was no way he was letting him go back to those humans, "Ready to go home?" He would have to send the others to get their bikes, didn't want to leave them on the boardwalk.

Dwayne looked down at Marko, " _You lost, he took the easy meal and not the runt. Smart baby, going for the bigger one._ "

" _...He might still be hungry…_ " Marko huffed, having been successfully pinned by Paul. The fight working itself out, now that their victim had died from blood loss. Kind of hard to live too long with a massive neck wound and a severed arm.

Michael looked blearily up at the others, and then at the stars...his thoughts were trying to come back to him, his reasoning and sense of self, but now he was just too tired to focus on them. Now that the headache and the pain were finally gone. He just wanted to…

He was out in less than ten seconds, and Sam took that opportunity to run. David and the others watched him go, their leader picking Michael up as he looked at the boys, "Go get our bikes, I'm going to get him home and settled." He glanced at the bodies, "And clean up the mess."

He took off, carrying his prize with him, because that's what Michael was, his prize, his trophy, his reward for all the hard work he'd done. Not only that but Michael was his ace in the hole. Who knew that making a new vampire of your own would give you more power. He could feel it, thrumming through him, and it made him want more. He felt possessive, he wanted to keep this one all for himself. He looked down at the sleeping vampire, he was special, was his but he wanted more. There had to be a way to keep him besides just creating him. It was stupid that Max kept everything to themselves, that's part of why he needed to go. Of course David would have to figure things out on his own, hopefully it wouldn't take that long to figure things out because David didn't want Michael's mother or pipsqueak brother in their pack. Max had to go and soon. He looked down at his prize again, he looked so peaceful, so soft, in his post feeding sleep. A small smile spread across his lips, Michael was his, now and forever, and he was never going to let him go.


	6. Chapter 6: Who You Gonna Call?

Author's notes:

 _Kage - Teenagers have no sanity but they're so much fun to mess with._

 _Ran - You really do have to wonder about the sanity of teenagers who believe so fervently in vampires before actually seeing them in action. I'm talking to you, Edgar and Alan._

* * *

He stumbled and scraped his hands on the way up the wooden steps, but Sam couldn't stop. Any second now, one of them could be following him, and he didn't want to take the risk. How did this even happen? Vampires shouldn't exist! Did this mean Santa Claus was real too?

'The Frogs, Frogs, Frogs…' It was a mantra pounding in his head, the only lifeline he could cling to. The only scrap of hope he had to...do something. He couldn't believe Mike was a monster now. He just couldn't! Yeah, he'd seen it with his own eyes, but...he must have been on drugs. Or they'd forced him into it. There was no way Mike would have wanted to kill people and... _ugh_...drink blood! That was just sick!

Laughter reverberating from a ferris wheel bounced into the sky, and lights twirled around him, as Sam rushed through the crowd. He could see large garish masks and twisted mirrors with people dancing in front of them, and in his delirium and fear, he wondered just how many of them were vampires too. He remembered the Frog brothers mentioning on that trip at the comic shop...Santa Carla was crawling with them…

He wiped the tears from his eyes, whimpering and squealing as the comic shop drew into his line of sight, when suddenly he felt sharp nails digging into his shoulder...and he was spun around to face the most horrifying monster of all.

Mom. And she was _pissed…_

"Samuel Emerson, what on earth are you doing out here?!" She demanded, giving him a good shake with her tiny hand on his shoulder.

"MOM! MIKE!"

"What? What is it about Michael? Is he hurt?!" She gasped, pressing a hand to her chest.

Sam shook his head violently, "no, mom...Mike's a shit-sucker! A monster! Satan's lap monkey! A...a vampire!"

Lucy stared at him in horror, pulling him in closer and warily sniffing at his breath, "Sam...have you been drinking?! Are you on drugs? DID MICHAEL GIVE THEM TO YOU?"

They were standing right outside of the video store. Lucy had seen Sam rushing by making a spectacle of himself, and she'd made it her duty to drop an armful of video tapes at the counter to rush out after him. Now that she knew he was apparently acting up just as bad as her eldest, Lucy was seriously concerned.

Max was standing in the window watching them, a smug smile graced his features at hearing Michael was a vampire. That was one of three, now he just had to get the other two. How hard could it be? Of course now that Sam knew, it might be more difficult than he thought and if he went to those brothers it would be worse. It was fortuitous that Lucy stopped him when she did because now Sam would be going home and there was no way she would let him out of her sight. His smile seemed to grow when he caught Sam's gaze, he couldn't help but feel as though he was winning. Soon he'd have his perfect family.

Sam's eyes darted towards Max, and for an instant he thought...maybe...no, probably not. But...then again...mom always said he only worked nights...and she only met him on that date at night...he'd have to find-"OW! MOM!" Sam whined, when Lucy pinched his ear firmly and drug him back inside the store.

"Max, I'm really sorry about this, but I have to take my son home. Can Maria cover for me? I'm...really sorry."

"Mom! I'm telling the truth! MIKE'S A SHIT-"

"That is enough out of you, mister," Lucy snapped, pulling his ear even harder.

"Don't worry about it, Lucy, take care of your son." He gave her a sympathetic look, "Please, let me know if everything is alright."

"I will. Thank you. Thank you so much," she sighed, glaring over at Sam. "Tomorrow you're going to learn the meaning of grounding, young man. If you don't shape up right now, I'm throwing that trunk in the ocean. You hear me?"

"Mom!" Sam whined as he was led away, but not before giving one last panicked look at Max. Max smiled at him while Lucy was looking away. There was something wrong with that guy. Something really wrong. And he wasn't about to leave anything to chance, now that he knew the Frogs and Diana had been right…

* * *

Michael looked so peaceful as he slept on the ratty couch. David had laid him in a comfortable position, his head hanging over the edge, giving the illusion of hanging. It felt more natural, more comfortable to them. David lounged in his wheelchair, relaxing and watching.

"Davey's looking a little...obsessed, don't you think?" Marko said softly, looking at Dwayne, not wanting to draw David's attention.

"What makes you say that?" Paul asked just as quietly, sneakily cutting small patches out of one of David's shirts while he wasn't looking. Because he had a death wish, and David was dumbly oblivious enough right now for Paul to get away with it.

Dwayne just nodded, leaning against the cave wall and watching David. He'd keep most of his thoughts to himself, but it was certainly odd. David usually wasn't quite this single-minded about anything or one. Hell, he'd only paid attention to Star for about an hour before he was bored with her.

Marko bit the thumb of his glove, "Think it's the whole turning thing, master, whatever?" He gnawed lightly on the leather, "He's been acting kind of funny since he dosed him and did you see how much he kept feeding him?" He glanced at Paul, "What do you think, asshole?" He was still sore about losing the fight over that surf nazi.

Paul had already started in on his stash, taking a long drag off his joint, "Eh, probably, maybe, I dunno, want some?" He held it out, offering it to the small one.

Dwayne rolled his eyes and pushed himself away from the wall, strolling over to Paul and snatching the joint from his hand, then tossing it into one of the burning barrels. "Better stop now before you start in on David's coat. You do want to keep your scalp tonight, don't you?"

Marko's face fell, "hey...I woulda finished it off, man!" He ended up shouting that just a little too loud, forgetting himself, and forcing Paul to hurriedly toss the mangled shirt behind him into the fountain.

David glanced over at them, scowling, "What'd you do, Paul?" He snarled softly, "I saw you throw something." Well, at least his attention wasn't on Michael anymore.

Paul screwed up his face, "lizards are crawling all over my face?" He asked hopefully.

David's lip pulled back, baring his teeth, "Don't lie to me, Paul, what'd you do?" His eyes flashed gold, they shouldn't mess with him, he's the master, this is his domain, they knew that, so why was he pushing it?

"Calm down," Dwayne raised his eyebrows in surprise. "He's just being a dumb fuck. He's always a dumb fuck, David."

Paul nodded, "yep. Wait...no I'm not!" Now it was his turn to get mad.

Marko smacked him upside the head, "Don't be stupid." He hissed, "Fuck, man, don't mess with him."

Paul opened his mouth to retort before snapping it shut. All of them looked toward the entrance, feeling Max coming closer. David scowled, leaning back in his chair, moving himself closer to Michael, closer to what was his. The nerdy looking vampire strode inside, practically steaming with anger.

"He made his first kill and you didn't bring him to me?" He snarled lowly, "Now his brother knows, you didn't actually get his brother? What are the four of you doing? What the hell are you even good for?"

David snarled, growling low in his throat, glancing at Dwayne. The others could feel his anger, the room was thick with it. Dwayne stepped forward, "This isn't a good time, Max." He stated calmly.

"I don't cater to your wants and wishes, you bow to mine. I thought you were smarter than this but apparently I've given you too much leeway, too much freedom. You're going to bring Michael with you in two nights, you're going to bring him when I go to turn his mother, and then maybe she and I can whip you back into your proper place, perhaps even literally." David didn't move, didn't even twitch as he stared at the older vampire, "Are we clear?"

Dwayne spoke up, "We're clear."

Max looked smug and it took all of David's control to keep himself from launching at him and tearing his throat out, "Good." Max growled, leaving the hotel.

The air was still tense, "I'm going to kill him, I'm going to make it last and he's going to feel nothing but pain before I drive a stake through his heart."

Even Paul was sober enough to look alarmed. "Uh...ahhhhhh...David, are you fucking crazy?!"

"He's a nerd. An idiot...never does anything but clean those stupid glasses and growl, but dude!" Marko shook his head. "He'd murder you. Bastard's like...three times your age! And mine...and Dwayne's..."

David slammed his fist down on the arm of his wheelchair, "He thinks he's above us, above me, he's nothing!"

Michael stirred on the couch, shifting and grabbing a ratty pillow shoved under his back and tossing it to the ground to get more comfortable. David immediately calmed, looking at Michael drew his attention away from his anger, away from thoughts of Max.

Paul, Marko, and Dwayne exchanged a glance. When frilly love tunes started to play in Paul's head, Dwayne gave him a very firm stare. "Don't."

"I wasn't gonna!" Paul insisted, almost offended they thought he'd try to piss David off again after an episode like that. He'd wait a few minutes.

"It's getting early," Dwayne sighed, "you going to just leave him out here?"

David shook his head, carefully picking him up, "I can't really get him to hang though but he needs to be away from the sun, I think there's a bed in the back, he can sleep there." He stated, heading deeper into the hotel, looking for a good place, a safe place, to put his new fledgling, "Don't worry, Michael. You'll enjoy forever."

* * *

Sam angrily threw the screwdriver aside, sticking his fingers into his mouth where he'd slipped and cut his skin. Then he wanted to gag, thinking Michael might have actually...would have...enjoyed licking his fingers. Damn it, he had to get that steamer trunk open! If he didn't get the Frog brothers' phone number, there was no telling how long he had before it was too late to save his brother. Because somehow, over the course of the very restless night (in which he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep), Sam had managed to convince himself there was a way.

Lucy was outside gardening, thoroughly distracted, while she juggled a spade and a glass of red wine. This was the best time to betray her trust. In his defense, it was for a noble cause.

Sam looked around the room and his eyes landed on a stuffed squirrel in a tuxedo propped up on his bedside table. He scrambled over to grab it...maybe he could use the little bastard to bash the lock open...he hefted it above his head and marched toward the prison in which his brother's salvation lay. "Okay...one…two…"

"Sam, what're you doin' boy?" Grandpa had snuck up on him silently, standing there with a root beer in hand like a ghost.

Sam jumped, screaming, and hurriedly tossing the squirrel out of his open bedroom window before spinning about with a nervous laugh, "what? I...what do you mean doing? I wasn't doing anything! I was just…" he snatched his blanket from his bed and spread it over the top of the trunk, "decorating. Thought this would make a good table, y'know? Get a vase...some flowers...really brighten the place up!"

He took a slow drink and shook his head, "Don't lie to me, boy. I heard you and Lucy talkin' last night. I know you know." He stepped forward, pulling the blanket off and and slowly hunkering down, "Hand me that screwdriver." He held his hand out, "What did you see last night?"

If Sam's sense of reality hadn't been completely blown apart by the bomb Mike's friends had dropped on him last night, this one nearly made him implode. " **YOU KNOW?! YOU KNOW, AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?! YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING?!** "

Grandpa growled softly, "Hand me the damn screwdriver, boy. I did the best I could, I tried to keep Michael here, tried to keep him in his room, ran over his damn bike, but you, you let him out. What happened last night?" His voice was low, calm, but gruff and demanding at the same time, "Stop stalling and answer the damn question."

Biting his lip, Sam reached for the screwdriver he'd tossed aside and held it out to the old man, "he went to the beach with those biker guys he's been hanging around with, and he dropped me off at the comic shop...then when I went to go find him, I don't know what happened, but they were...they were killing people. Mike was killing people... _and drinking their blood!_ He almost went after me before I got away!"

The old man popped open the trunk in one quick movement before sighing, it looked like he just aged ten years in a single moment, "I'm sorry about your brother, Sam, you're lucky he didn't eat you." It was supposed to be comforting.

Sam collapsed at the foot of his bed, pressing his hands to his forehead, "it was my fault. That's why you put all those crosses up in his room, isn't it? And...and if I hadn't…"

"If you hadn't it still would have happened eventually. He may have even straight up attacked you or those bikers would have come for him and we could have all died. There's a lot of what if here's Sam. It's his own damn fault for drinking vampire blood in the first place." He got to his feet, stepping back from the, now open, trunk.

Sam was despondent as his grandfather left the room. Maybe there really wasn't any hope at all for Michael. Why the hell would he have drank vampire blood? He just didn't understand it...sure, Mike was a dumb jock for the most part, definitely never got the best grades...but he wasn't a complete idiot. The only explanation for it seemed to be that he was forced. Maybe even held at...what...fang-point?

He threw himself at the open trunk and hurriedly dug through his stacks of comics, searching for the one that really was his last thread of hope. Grandpa knew about this stuff and he'd tried to save Michael, but...he was old. And he was weird. Yeah, the Frog brothers were pretty weird too, but it was all he had. Sam sighed and slammed the trunk closed, slipping the comic under his shirt. He couldn't risk getting into more trouble with mom. He'd wait to call them until tonight. Hopefully they had their own form of transportation, because there was no way he was going back to the boardwalk.

* * *

When Lucy drove off for work that night, a firm command to Sam not to leave the house, and a warning to her own father that if he saw Michael...he'd better make sure to chain him to a radiator if he had to...two dark figures lurked in the bushes. She caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, but assumed it was just a family of raccoons.

Little did she know, Edgar and Alan Frog...self-proclaimed vampire hunter extraordinaires...were on the case. They'd worry about the make-shift camouflage they'd covered their bikes with later. Hopefully the white rosebushes they'd torn up would keep them hidden long enough to remain undiscovered before the end of their consultation session with the civilian Sam Emerson.

Inside, Sam waited anxiously near the front door for three quick knocks and a kick...the code signal Edgar had told him to expect over the phone, so he'd know they weren't bloodsuckers come to finish him off for 'seeing too much'.

When the signal came, and he yanked the door open, he was surprised to see two very bedraggled Frog brothers covered in grease paint and mud, with bits of twigs sticking out of their shirts and hair.

"We came as soon as we could," Edgar grunted, shoving his way inside. "Never give an invitation if you can help it. First rule. If you do, they'll think you're a pushover," he explained while Alan followed. It wasn't quite right reason, but it was still good advice.

"I'm glad you guys came. Listen, I wanted to talk about my brother...I just didn't have a lot of time on the phone. Mom was watching me like a hawk all day," Sam explained, closing the door behind Alan and swiftly locking it.

"You did the right thing by calling us. He's dead. Forget him. Stake your brother, you'll feel better," Alan told him curtly. "Do you got any snacks?"

"I can't stake my brother!" Sam yelped, leading them towards the kitchen. Edgar paused every few feet to inspect a wall panel or a hanging picture, a chair, a clock...as if he were looking for something important.

"Gotta search for bugs," he explained. "If they've got a Renfield hanging around, you're gonna need a good distraction."

Sam was beginning to think he had made a very big mistake. Again. "Uh...I don't think that's...I don't think that's why you check for bugs," he sighed. Now that they were here, and apparently advocated actively killing Mike...jeeze, how was he going to get rid of them? "Are you sure we can't save him? I mean...like...reverse it?"

"Doubt it," Alan shrugged. "Unless...he hasn't killed anyone yet?" Then he paused, "or...if there's some Tang in the fridge? We might be able to save him if there's Tang."


	7. Chapter 7: Maybe Call Someone Else

Author's notes:

Ran - _Say what you want about the D.A.R.E program...they had the comfiest shirts on the planet._

 _Kage - Sadly, I never got one but I will never forget the commercials and the drug PSA's of the 80's and 90's._

* * *

For the first time in about a week, Michael was waking up without two things: a crippling migraine, and Sam pulling some kind of stupid fucking prank just to mess with him. Funny, he actually felt better than he could even remember. His bed felt a little odd, though. Kind of...lumpy. Michael slowly cracked his eyes open with a yawn, and sat up. He'd been laying out awkwardly over the side of the mattress, but it honestly wasn't that uncomfortable.

Wait...this wasn't his bed, and this _definitely_ wasn't his room. He scowled. What happened last night?

His eyes slid down to his feet...well, at least he'd remembered to take his shoes off for once. As he slowly got his bearings, never really having been a morning person (and apparently not an early evening one, either), he began to take stock of his situation. Okay, so last night they'd taken Sam to a comic shop, then they'd gone to the beach…

 _holy fuck…_

David chuckled softly, far enough away that Michael couldn't hear him but he could feel that he was there if he wanted to. He planned to wait for him to get his bearings, let him get a feel for what had happened to him and let it set in exactly what he had become. Maybe he would remember the fact that he agreed when David asked if he wanted to live forever, well, now it was a reality. He glanced at his fledgling, there was still an ugly bandage on the back of his neck, he grinned, wouldn't that be fun.

Michael sighed, leaning back against the warped headboard of the bed. He really had no idea where to even begin. Okay, so he'd killed people. That was definitely...well, he knew it was bad. He should feel bad about it, too. This was definitely a funny way to find out he was a sociopath. And he hadn't just killed them...he'd torn their flesh open, drank their blood…just the thought of it gave him a strange feeling. His eyes darted down to his hands and he held them up in front of his face. His nails looked a little longer than usual, but they definitely didn't look like claws. He wished he could blame this on the same shit Star must have been smoking...wait... _was_ she smoking anything?

"Oh my g…" Michael put his head in his hands. The last word wouldn't even come out. He wasn't mad...another thing he really should be. He should be mad, he should be upset that he'd gone insane and butchered two human beings. But just thinking about them kind of made him want to do it again. Wow, the things D.A.R.E doesn't teach you.

Idly, he moved one of his hands to the back of his neck to scratch at his bandage, catching it on his nails. He expected to feel a slight sting of adhesive plucking at the healing wound, but...nothing. "What the hell…?" He flicked the bandage aside and ran his fingers along where Nanook's bite-mark should be, and felt nothing but smooth, clean skin. How long had he been asleep?!

Michael flung his legs over the side of the bed and squinted, searching the ground for his boots. This was what happened when he left his stupid fucking lucky jeans at home…crazy shit.

David chuckled softly, glancing at the boots by the bed, "I think the leather looks better on you." He stepped out of the shadows.

Pulling his legs back up on the mattress, Michael hurriedly scooted closer to the headboard, glaring at David, "what did you do to me?" He should be madder, he thought...but he was mostly irritated. Part of it was really about the jeans, too.

"Nothing you didn't want. Remember the other night when we were talking about forever?" He grinned, licking his lips, "Ask and ye shall receive."

Michael snorted, shaking his head in disbelief, "you...you're enjoying this, aren't you?" Clearly David thought this was fucking hilarious.

He chuckled softly, "Yeah, I am. You're one of us now, Michael, why shouldn't I enjoy it? I'm sure you have questions, go ahead, ask away, and maybe, just maybe, I'll answer." He grinned, moving over to him and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Eyeing David warily, Michael slowly lowered his feet back to the ground. "So I guess this means Star wasn't crazy, and she wasn't lying to me when she said you were monsters," he stated flatly. It wasn't really so much a question as it was an accusation. If Star wasn't lying that night, then clearly David was.

He looked offended, "Monster is such a strong word." He paused, "Vampire, yes, monster, not really. We're hunters, predators, and Star, she is a little crazy, but she's long gone, didn't want to be part of our pack. She didn't have what you do and she was the product of someone else's designs, not mine." He paused, "That's something I need to talk with you about too but it can wait for the rest of your questions."

 _Designs?_ Michael frowned, clasping his hands over his knees, relaxing somewhat. But not entirely. He was still confused as fuck, and didn't even know where he really should begin. "...And that wasn't wine you gave me?"

He shook his head, "My blood. Only really need a little bit but you're my first. Never used my blood to turn anyone before."

"Wow. So I'm a guinea pig...great. I feel so honored," Michael retorted. Again, not a morning person.

"You should feel honored, you got out of having an idiot for a maker and you're not the guinea pig, I am. I know how to turn someone but I didn't know, don't know, what it's gonna do to me." Why was he telling him all this?

"Why _me?_ I don't even _like_ horror movies. Now I'm going to live one?"

"It would have happened one way or another, this way you can help take care of the problem before he goes after your mom and brother."

Michael clenched his fists, and he could swear his nails felt even sharper as they dug into his palms, "it's the guy from that video store, isn't it? That's why you knew who my mom was…" He felt a surge of dark anger boiling up, and struggled to bite it back. Something told him now wasn't really the best time to lose his temper...and something else told him throwing down with David would be both pointless and stupid.

"Got it in one, yeah, it's Max. And he wanted your whole family to be his."

"The fuck? Is he insane?! We haven't even been here more than a week!" Michael blurted out, unclenching his fists and flinching as he looked down at his bloodied palms. His eyes widened in astonishment as the rows of indentations from his nails seemed to be shrinking even as the blood dried.

David shrugged, "All it took was that first night for him to get it in his head that he wanted your mom. He thinks we need a mother, been living too long as a human. I think it drove him nuts."

Rubbing at his palms to clean off the dried blood, Michael glanced up at David, "I should be mad at you. I'm not. You got an answer for that one?"

He shrugged, "Might be because I made you or maybe that new part of you just accepts it or maybe it was meant to be. I don't really have an answer for that one." He paused, "Besides, being mad at me isn't fun, for anyone."

Michael looked down at his hands, now that he'd managed to clean most of the blood off...No...no cuts. The skin was flawless. "It's gonna be pretty tough going home after this…" It didn't even strike him for a moment that wasn't an immediate possibility.

David laughed, "You are home. Afraid going back to those humans isn't an option. " He paused briefly, "But, we are going to off Max and save your mom and little bro."

Scowling, Michael looked back at David, "why can't I go back? They're my _family_."

David held back a growl, eyes narrowed slightly. Michael was his, why would he want to leave? "The sun for one, two, we're you're family now, three, you're gonna be hungry and they're free range food, and lastly you'll start to go nuts without us, you know you belong here, just accept it and we can move forward." He paused, "You don't want to end up like Max, do you?"

This was a lot to take in. Maybe even too much. He'd actually...he couldn't believe he'd ever want to kill his mom, or Sam, or even grandpa...but a vague memory from the night before crept it's way back into his mind, and he realized...David was right. He'd already come pretty close to trying to eat his little brother…

"Is Sam okay? Did he get hurt?!" Michael's eyes widened in alarm, his voice rising slightly. He hadn't seen Sam run off, only heard him screaming before he'd fallen asleep. But...David had just said they were going to save mom AND Sam...so he had to be okay. Right?

"Don't worry, the midget's fine, I wasn't going to let you bite him, although Marko wanted to, the sick bastard." Okay, so it would have been funny if Michael had gone after Sam but he didn't want to live with the headache it would inevitably cause, "Tomorrow night we're gonna go to your mom's place, after we've gotten a good meal in you. Max is planning on doing it then and he wants you there. You're going to pretend to not know I'm going to take out Max. We'll make sure he doesn't get your mom or Sam and guess what? We off him and Star and Laddie go back to being human, go back to living their short little lives, and you won't have to worry about them or your family. Everyone wins." Especially David.

Relaxing somewhat, Michael slowly nodded. He still had a hundred questions. Maybe even more. But the mention of a meal sounded intriguing. He flinched at the sound of his stomach indignantly making it's presence known, "am I always going to be hungry like this?"

David shook his head, "Nah, only in the beginning, give it a couple years and you can go longer without. I haven't eaten in...three nights, I want to but I can go without." He looked toward the opening that would lead them to the others, "Marko and Paul like to pretend they're starving."

Speaking of one devil, Paul poked his head through the opening with a sneaky grin, "sleeping beauty finally up? You give him a ki-" Dwayne's hand slammed over his mouth and dragged Paul away, struggling and flapping his arms.

Marko showed up soon after, "hiya Mikey. What's it feel like being Davey's-" Dwayne's hand came into view again, repeating the same thing he'd had to do with Paul. Really, both of them just didn't learn. Even after almost a hundred years.

Michael scowled after them, "what the fuck was that about?" He looked back at David suspiciously, "what did they mean? What were they trying to say?" And once more, he had a sense of growing alarm.

He shrugged, growling after them, "They're being assholes. You'll get used to it, feel free to beat the shit out of them." He paused, "And stop freaking out."

 _"Aww, Davey, he's not your bitch?"_ Marko was laughing, at least he wasn't letting Michael in on it but it was only a matter of time.

Dwayne's voice chimed in, _"get your fucking fangs out of my arm, Paul!"_

"Watch out for Paul though, he's a biter." David shook his head, "Any more questions?"

Shaking his head, Michael shrugged helplessly, "nothing I guess I won't find out on my own." He paused, "what are the chances of grabbing my lucky jeans tomorrow?"

David raised an eyebrow, "I guess you can grab whatever you want but really, those things were falling apart. Let's get you some chow, sound good?" He got to his feet, handing Michael his boots before heading for the others.

* * *

"Score!" Alan cheered, digging into the forbidden second shelf of the refrigerator, "I freaking love Double Stuf Oreos!" He grabbed an unopened package and tore into it with his teeth, shoving a fistful of grandpa's prized treats into his maw.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Sam yelped, "my grandpa's gonna kill me if he finds out you guys ate his stash!"

"Listen, we're about to risk our lives to save your family," Edgar jabbed Sam in the chest and dug his free hand into the fridge to grab the last two root beers, "the least you can do is give us some snacks and drinks while we're making a plan," he grunted as he tossed one of the sodas to Alan and slammed his hand on the lid of his own against the kitchen counter, taking a long gulp and striding towards the table.

Sam panicked and busily re-arranged the snacks in the second shelf to make it look like there was nothing missing. Hopefully grandpa would think he'd just finished off the last of his root beer…"maybe we shoulda just met at your comic shop," he sighed, turning back to the table where Alan had already sat down with his brother and dropped the bag of Oreos, along with a couple of rolled-up comics he'd kept tucked under his coat.

Edgar shook his head, "no good. If it's the ones you told us about on the phone, they'll know we know. And we know they'll know we know. And then they'll know we know…"

"Bad idea," Alan finished for him, prying off the lid of his own root beer and taking a swig while he busied himself scooping out more Oreos.

"First thing's first, Sam," Edgar continued as the youngest Emerson slowly take a seat, desperately hoping they could actually help him. By the looks of it, so far, they were just turning out to be moochy guests with attitudes. "When a vampire bites it, it's never a pretty sight. Some yell and scream, some go quietly, some explode, some implode, but all will try to take you with them."

Sam gulped, idly rubbing at his neck, remembering how horrible Michael had looked, eating those guys on the beach. Yeah...definitely not even remotely pretty.

"So, I repeat, did your brother make his first kill?" Alan narrowed his eyes at Sam and leaned forward, peering at him as if he just knew Sam was about to lie. But if he told them the truth about Mike, they might not even help him! Besides, they could be wrong. How many vampires had they honestly taken out? Maybe since it hadn't been too long, Mike was an exception to the first kill rule.

"No," Sam shook his head. "They...they just took him with them. I think they're gonna try and make him do it soon, but they just haven't done it yet."

There was an uncomfortable silence punctuated by the sound of open-mouthed cookie chewing and sloppy sips as the Frog brothers kept eyeing him. He felt like he was about to start sweating if they didn't cool it on the interrogating. Because that's what this felt like right now…

Edgar finally leaned back and nodded, satisfied, "okay, then. We might be able to save him if we stake the head vampire. We've been aware there's some very serious vampire activity in this town for some time."

"Santa Carla's become a haven for the undead," Alan added.

"Bloodsuckers like to hang out in dark, empty places. The kinds of spots you wouldn't be caught dead in unless you had a death wish. Condemned buildings. Old cellars. Bunkers. Caves. You name it. We find out where they took your brother, chances are we'll find the head vampire there too. So, first thing's first, we figure out their location...find them...and…" Edgar made a gesture with his thumb, dragging it across his neck in a slitting motion.

"We work pretty close with the local cops, too. We tell them about this problem, they'll be out there combing the city while we take care of the more dangerous locations. They're not as equipped to handle the undead as we are," Alan added with a firm nod.

Wow! Even the cops knew about this stuff? Sam had to admit, he was a little impressed. Maybe Ed and Alan weren't full of shit, after all. "When are we gonna start looking?"

"Tomorrow morning. When the sun comes up," Edgar grunted, taking another gulp of root beer.

"We'll swing by to pick you up," Alan added, scooping up the half-finished bag of Oreos. "Gotta get back to the store, though. The folks are probably sleeping on the counter by now. Be ready...we're going to save your brother."

* * *

Grandpa meticulously began to paint each door and window frame with holy oil. It had been a long time since he had done anything like this but now that Michael was one of them, well, they were going to need some protection. Lucy was still oblivious to what had happened, he was sure she was worried about Michael. Then there was Sam, he had looked guilty when he last saw him, no doubt blaming himself for what happened. It wasn't his fault, the kid was too hard on himself. If anyone was to blame it was himself, he hadn't warned them, hadn't prepared them for the darkness crawling under the city, then again, he thought Michael was smart enough not to involve himself with a bunch of bikers. He had been wrong, as was evident by his missing grandson. There was no way of knowing where they had taken him, what did they do with newly turned vampires anyway?

He finished the last doorframe, he would need to put other protections in place and hope they were enough to keep his daughter and her youngest safe from whoever had targeted their family but right now, more than anything, he needed a root beer. Maybe he'd even add a little...extra to it this time, he deserved it. He pulled open the fridge and reached inside to grab one of his sacred drinks. They were gone. Someone had taken, not only his last two root beers, but his oreos as well. The only one who was here was Sam. He slammed the fridge shut, looking up the stairs toward his room.

" **SAM!** " He stormed up the stairs to deal with his grandson.

But Sam was gone. He'd left a note on his bed, though:

 _Grandpa. Went to save Mike. Be back soon. Don't tell mom. - Sam_

He grabbed the note off his bed, crumpling it into a wad, "You're in for it when you get back, boy."

* * *

Things had been pretty calm in Santa Carla as of late, sure, there were still missing and dead but the past few days had been calm. This gave the police some nice downtime, time they didn't have to spend covering up what the Lost Boys were doing, because they knew it was them, they just couldn't do anything about it. It had been this way for around a hundred years and they figured it was going to stay that way for another hundred.

"Sir," a small blonde officer knocked politely on the chief of police's office door before pushing it open, "I don't mean to interrupt your breakfast...but...they're here. Do you want me to tell them you're on a 'mission' today, or do you want to see them?" She covered her mouth conspiratorially, holding back a small laugh.

The older man sighed and shook his head, "You know what, I'm in for a good laugh today, let them in."

She nodded curtly and rushed off. In no time, Edgar, Alan, and Sam came into view by the windows surrounding his small office, and Edgar practically kicked the door open with his typical dramatic flair, "RICK, WE'VE GOT TO TALK!"

Sam's eyes widened at Edgar's behavior, and he stepped back a little to put some distance between them.

"Alright boys, what about? What have you found out?" He folded his hands on his desk, only holding back a laugh due to practice. Then he noticed Sam, "Hello young man, new to town? I see you've met our resident vampire exterminators."

Edgar held up a hand, "please, sir, no need to be formal here. We're friends. You can call us 'assassins of the undead' if it makes you feel more comfortable."

Alan nodded in agreement, crossing his arms and trying to stare the chief down with his patented sneer.

Sam blinked several times, "you...so you really do know them?"

He thought of the brothers as idiots and now they were drawing another poor kid into it. Of course he didn't want to lose his source of entertainment so he would have to lead the newcomer on, "Oh, yes, we know them."

"Go on, Sam...tell him," Edgar nudged Sam forward, and he nodded briskly.

"The...Ed and Alan told me their names were 'The Lost Boys'...they took my brother. And we're trying to find them before nightfall so we can save him before it's too late...they're trying to make him join them."

"We need you to round up your men and get them combing the city while we take on the more dangerous parts. We're going to have to find their lair as soon as possible," Edgar patted a few stakes strapped to his chest. "Gonna take them out for good."

"For good," Alan echoed 'threateningly'.

He nodded sagely, "Sure, sure, of course boys, we'll get right on that." Of course the kid, Sam, should just write off his brother, if he's with the Lost Boys, well, it was too late for him.

Edgar grunted, walking right up to the chief's desk and slamming his hands down on the surface, leaning forward with a frown, "usually you guys are pretty sloppy about this stuff. How manys times have we had to give you our business cards, and then have to find out about all the local murders on the news?" He dug into his pockets and pulled out half of a cut-up cereal box top with their phone number on it, "here," he shoved it towards the police chief. "This time, keep it in your wallet. Call the shop if you find anything. Rudy should be working today, so he'll answer and come find us when you've got good news."

"Alright, alright." He made a show of putting it in his wallet, of course he was going to throw it away the minute they left, "I'll let you know." It was getting harder and harder not to laugh.

"Good," Edgar nodded, stomping back towards the exit, grabbing Sam by the shoulder and signaling to his brother, "we've gotta go take care of some bloodsuckers!" And with that, they were gone...though Sam cast more than one very worried look back at the cop, unsure what to think about the scene he'd just witnessed.

The moment they were out of sight he burst into laughter. They were always good for a laugh, maybe he'd have to tell the new kid the truth one day, but he did get himself involved with them all on his own.

The blonde officer rushed into the office once the teenagers had disappeared from sight, "sir...what should I tell Benny about the betting pool? Did they threaten you about your badge this time? Or did they demand your gun?"

"Neither," he took out the business card and tossed it at him, "demanded I put this in my wallet. I think they may have gone off the deep end this time, I think they're trying to hunt the Lost Boys." That thought sobered him up a little, "Had a new kid with them, the boys have his brother apparently."

Her eyes widened, "do you want to file a missing persons?"

He shook his head, "No, not yet, we'll see what happens and then file one if we have to. Let's hope it doesn't come to that."


	8. Chapter 8: That Went Well

Author's Notes:

Ran - _Poor Marko. Should've slept further away from the wall._

 _Kage - I feel sorry for all the boys, being picked on by stupid humans. They didn't deserve that!_

 _Ran - ...Okay, well...they kinda did. But that's not the point!_

* * *

Seven hours. Seven hours of riding around on bicycles, breaking into old garages and condemned warehouses, a retired canning plant, even a deaf old lady's house (apparently she just so happened to have a very spacious basement she couldn't get to anymore)...and nothing. At about 4 pm, they knew they were running out of time. That was when Sam realized they might have to get a little smarter about this. If the police really were on their side, and they'd not once stumbled into the Lost Boys lair...it had to be a place nobody ever dreamed of going. Somewhere so dangerous, only a vampire could survive. Hopefully. Honestly, he was just grasping at straws at this point...and the lectures from Edgar with the occasional interjection from Alan were giving him a headache.

He didn't need to know vampires hated garlic because they apparently had a bad history with Italians, he didn't need to know that the real reason they couldn't stand anything holy was because the shape of the cross did something geometrically destructive to their DNA, and he didn't need to know that apparently Swamp Thing was real and living in Vegas. He just...didn't need to know. Frankly, they were beginning to sound a little nuts. If the police chief hadn't seemed too sure of them, Sam would have gone off and finished this on his own somehow…

"Guys, I think we're doing this all wrong," Sam sighed. "We need to go to the library or something...do some research. Maybe there's some place around here nobody ever goes to, huh?"

"Can't do that, Sam," Alan shook his head as they pulled their bikes aside on the boardwalk and stopped to talk.

"Why not?" Sam frowned, looking back and forth between them. "You got a better idea?"

"We can't do that. They've got a 'no Frogs' sign on the front. Last time we went there, Alan broke the toilet," Edgar explained.

"You broke it, Edgar!" Alan snapped, glaring at his brother.

"You're the one who ate Mexican," Edgar insisted, crossing his arms.

"You're the one who snapped the lid off when you tried to shove me away!" Alan stepped forward, brandishing a fist.

"GUYS!" Sam waved his arms, "I don't care! I'll go in alone, I'm sure there aren't any shit-sucking vampires in there to deal with, okay? I'll just browse through some newspapers for a bit, and maybe we can get an idea where to go…"

"How's that gonna help?" Edgar grunted. "There's only one place nobody ever goes around here. That's the no-entry zone out by the bluffs. There's a fault or something in there, and apparently it's real unstable."

Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool. Now he was getting mad, too. "And...why didn't we go there first, huh?"

Alan shrugged, "it's dangerous. Why would vampires be somewhere dangerous?"

"BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY DEAD, AREN'T THEY?!" Sam shouted, throwing his backpack down to the ground with a huff.

"Oh…" Edgar scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well...yeah...I guess that makes sense. Good thinking, Alan."

Sam came very close to losing it and wailing on both of them.

* * *

David scowled slightly, something was wrong, he could feel it. Something was moving and someone was talking and it wasn't Paul for once, that asshat liked to talk in his sleep. Michael was sleeping nearby, he'd let him get away with sleeping on the bed, thought he'd ease him into hanging to sleep. It hadn't been easy maneuvering that bed in there, either. David stirred slightly, it was hard to wake up in the middle of the day but it was getting close to nightfall. He roused himself slightly, trying to follow the noise, but then things went silent so he let himself fall back asleep, he'd deal with Paul being an ass later.

Below, Sam and the Frogs were stumbling through the caves, trying to find where the Lost Boys were sleeping.

"It's gotta be around here someplace," Edgar stated, flashing his light around.

"There's nothing here, let's-" Sam began, before his eyes fell on a large shape in the dark. He pointed his flashlight at the old bed in the corner, wedged tightly into the cramped space...and for a moment, his heart stopped. Relief washed over him when he saw his brother sleeping there, though he looked really weird half-hanging over the side of the bed. He wasn't in a coffin...that was a good sign, right? Maybe...maybe he hadn't entirely killed those guys the other night. Yeah, maybe he'd only half-killed them...that made sense. In a mind forcing itself to embrace denial with flying colors, it made complete sense.

"Guys!" Sam hissed, "it's my brother! It's-" his eyes trailed upwards, and he shouted in horror. The Lost Boys...dangling upside down...sleeping the sleep of the undead.

There was a grumble from the little one, almost unintelligible words escaping his lips, something about Paul, and being a dick before he went quiet again. Then the one with the rocker hair sniffed, huffing in his sleep...mumbling something about Marko...and fucking himself.

"I thought you said they were supposed to be in coffins," Sam whispered.

"That's what this cave is, it's one giant coffin!" Edgar rasped, as they all crowded together. He rushed over to a broken metallic grating against the wall, "and right now they're at their most vulnerable."

"Easy pickings," Alan agreed.

"Hold on, guys! Lemme get my brother, first!" Sam hissed, rushing over to the bed and dropping his backpack on the ground as he dived at the mattress, grabbing Michael by the shoulder and giving him a good shake.

Michael shifted, but otherwise didn't react.

"Mike!" Sam whispered, "MIKE!" He added, shouting into Michael's ear.

The brunette slowly cracked open one bleary eye, "Shhhham?" He slurred, and that was about all he was able to do as his eye started to slowly close.

"We don't know which one the leader is," Edgar grunted, while Alan followed him up the ladder, "so we'll just have to kill them all."

"First come, first staked," Alan agreed, pulling out a stake.

"Let's go with the little one first, Edgar grunted with a nod.

"What was that? A little vampire humor?! It wasn't funny!" Sam snapped, leaning down to dig his hands into his brother's jacket, trying his best to drag him from the bed. Not very effective…"MIKE! WAKE...UP!" Sam shouted, louder than he probably should have, but there was nothing else for it. He just couldn't do this if Michael wouldn't get his fat ass up. Probably all those stupid protein shakes he was always gargling.

Edgar was just about to heft the stake up, "good night, bloodsucker…" He grunted, glaring at Marko.

David's eyes snapped open and he let out a roar, startling the others out of their sleep, "What the fuck?" He swiped at Edgar, claws flashing, and causing Marko to release his hold in surprise, sliding out of the way of the stake.

Edgar, Alan, and Sam screamed as one as the small vampire tumbled down to the ground and landed on the bed, causing Michael to jerk awake as they collided. That did it.

"Mike!" Sam shouted, panicking as he scrambled back and the Frog brothers jumped down to the ground, still screaming like bloody murder. Sam looked towards the exit and then back at his brother, unsure what to do, but knowing he only had a few seconds to do it. Meanwhile, Alan and Edgar waved their stakes about in self-defense as they made a break for it behind Sam.

David dropped down, crouching in front of the others, especially Michael, the fledgling wasn't the most coherent right now. The leader of the boys bared his teeth, growling after them, he wasn't about to let the little shits get away with this. It was already hard to keep himself awake but he could do it, at least until the danger passed.

 _"My back! My fucking back!"_ Marko mentally shouted, his spine having made a sharp enough collision into the bed to snap a supporting board in the frame. It hurt like a bitch, but he'd live.

"Get off me!" Michael pushed him away, still dazed, and already sinking back onto the mattress with a yawn, despite his best efforts to keep himself awake and figure out what the fuck was going on. "Sam?!" He rasped, yawning again as his head sunk low enough to brush against the ground.

The Frog brothers dragged Sam behind them as they dashed from the chamber and down the low, narrow pathway leading outside. They had to get away...there was no time to stick around for his brother...clearly, he wasn't even trying to come with them.

Sinking back into darkness, Michael became once more blissfully unaware of his surroundings even as Marko drug himself up and slowly hovered back to his perch, glaring grumpily at David, "coulda warned me," he grumbled.

" _Still say we can't eat the twerp?_ " Paul asked, smacking his lips as he fell back asleep, not really feeling the need to wait for an answer.

" _Warned you about what? Oh, hey, someone's gonna stab you? You'd be dead before I said anything and if anyone gets to eat him it's Michael._ " David checked on Michael before returning to his perch, " _It'll be night soon, we'll take care of this shit then. Go back to sleep._ " He yawned, falling back asleep.

* * *

He was waiting for Sam at the kitchen table. They were going to have it out the moment he walked through that door. Not just for this shelf either, no, for running out while grounded to do who knows what. He glared at the door, unmoving from his place at the table, he had to come home sooner or later.

"If you'd figured out where they slept earlier, we might've been able to stake them all. I think it was too close to nightfall. That blonde one woke up way too fast," Edgar shouted in the living room.

"Now we don't even have time to stock up on holy water and garlic to build up your defenses here," Alan added with a sneer. "We're just gonna have to rely on skill and cunning when they show up to deal with us tonight. And trust me...they will."

"Once your brother spills about where you live, yeah," Edgar agreed.

"If we're still alive in the morning, and they haven't showed up, you're going to have to go back there and stake them without us," Alan added as Sam walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water...drawing to a stop with widened eyes when he saw grandpa waiting for him.

"Uh…" Sam trailed off, looking down at his feet sheepishly.

"Hello, boys." He grunted softly, glaring at them. He looked at the Frog brothers, "Go...home...now."

Edgar scowled, "afraid we can't do that. Bloodsuckers are coming-"

He froze briefly before getting to his feet and walking up the stairs without another word, only to come back down a second later with the steamer trunk. He dragged it past them and outside, grabbing a lighte on his way out.

"Grandpa?" Sam looked at him, gulping, "what...what are you doing with my comics?!" Sam chased him out the door, the Frogs following close behind.

He flicked his thumb across the flint, watching as it sparked to life before opening the trunk and grabbing one of the comics. He met Sam's gaze before moving the flame close.

"Grandpa...please…" Sam whimpered, looking back at Edgar and Alan, who were just as shocked.

"I think we're gonna go," Edgar grunted quickly.

"Yeah...uh...we're...we've got a lot of garlic back home," Alan agreed, before they both dashed off across the lawn and grabbed their bikes, pedaling off perhaps almost as fast as they'd run from the cave.

"Tell me what you boys did and maybe I won't do it." He looked at the brothers as they fled, "and how did you wind up with them?" He moved the flame a little closer, "Isn't this a rare one?" He looked thoughtful.

"H-half of them are…" Sam Stammered, wringing his hands together. "We found where those vampires are, we told the cops, and we found Mike...tried to bring him home and stake the head vampire. But he...they woke up before we could do anything. I met the Frog brothers at the comic shop, and they said they knew about this kinda stuff. It was the only thing I could think of to bring Mike home!"

"Damn fool." He sighed, dropping the comic in with the others, "I should burn them all." He looked at the setting sun, "Let's get inside and hope you didn't piss them off too much."

Just then, Lucy pulled into the driveway and unbuckled her seatbelt before rolling down her car window, "Sam, dad...can you help me with the groceries?" She paused. "...Did...Michael come home while I was gone?" Then her eyes were drawn curiously to the trunk, "Samuel Emerson, did you break that thing open out here?!"

Grandpa looked smug, this would be punishment enough, "No, Lucy, he didn't come home." He debated for a moment if he should say more, "I'm not sure he will be either."

"He met a girl, mom," Sam added, not only trying to deflect the topic from his comics, but also trying to tell a half-truth to keep her from worrying too much. Mike had met a girl...Sam just didn't know where she was. She hadn't been in that freaky cave with the others…

Lucy blinked in surprise, settling back in the car and staring ahead while she kept her hands firmly gripped on the steering wheel, "honestly...sometimes he's just so much like his father, it scares me." And while she did sound a little upset, a lot of the worry seemed to melt from her shoulders. Going crazy over a girl, being moody, refusing to come home just to spend more time with her...that was an awful lot better than doing drugs…

He glanced at Sam, maybe keeping his comics was a reward for saving Lucy the pain of losing her eldest son, "Let's go inside, have some dinner." He snagged the groceries, heading inside as the sun sank behind the horizon.


	9. Chapter 9: The Girls

Author's notes:

Ran - _As far as I know, Fangoria never had a pornographic sister magazine...as far as I know...aaand here's a 2nd chapter in 1 day. We actually finished the story, but we're spacing it out just to tease you guys as we release the chapters. Actively in the process of the sequel right now, too._

Kage - _Hey, who knows anymore and we gotta give the boys what they want!_

* * *

Michael was still a little groggy from sleeping on that bed. He'd been warned he'd feel this way if he didn't hang like the others, but he just wasn't ready yet. At least, not last night. Frankly, after the shit he'd just seen, he wondered if it wouldn't have been better to just swallow his reservations and give it a shot. At least Marko wouldn't have practically crushed him...but he had a lot of other things on his mind right now than just poor sleeping arrangements. What the hell was Sam thinking, tracking them down like that? And who were those other kids he was with? What's more...they had stakes...had they come there to kill all of them? Even _him_? Did Sam really think Michael wasn't his brother anymore, after what happened on the beach? It shouldn't hurt as much as it did. Anyone probably could have felt like that, given the circumstances...but it did. And he just wanted that pain to go away.

Dwayne silently perused a magazine on the couch beside Michael, while Marko leaned over behind him reaching forward to jab at a picture of a girl lounging on a sports car, "you think those are fake?"

Marko nodded, "So fake, they're too...perky."

David lounged in his chair, resting his cheek on his fist, "So, we seem to have a little _issue_." He paused, "Besides Max."

Michael looked over at David, eyebrows lowered, "why would he do that?" The question was more for himself than anyone else. He just couldn't understand it.

"Those idiot brothers probably got it into his head that you're going to eat him when you see him." Paul poked the next picture in Dwayne's magazine, "What about that one? Real or fake?"

"Because he's an idiot." David stated it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "They know where we live now."

"Fake. We've got to eat them or switch our sleeping spots. Gotta pick one," Dwayne said dryly, flipping to the next page.

"Fake," Marko, Paul, and Dwayne all said at once.

Throwing his head back, Michael crossed his arms, "I'm not eating him."

"You're right, they smell bad, bet they taste worse." Marko made a face, sticking his tongue out.

"So we threaten them and move." David rocked back and forth as he spoke.

Dwayne set the magazine aside, "I'm not moving that bed again. You're going to have to sleep the normal way like the rest of us later."

"Normal? That's not _normal_ ," Michael insisted, though he'd already decided he'd give it a shot. The word normal didn't seem to apply to anything they were involved with. Even that magazine Dwayne was reading was a pornographic companion to Fangoria. Yeah...that wasn't normal.

"You okay, Davey?" Paul glanced over at David curiously. "Seem kinda...buggy…"

David growled softly, "I'm pissed, this is our territory and they invaded it, I want to tear them apart. Blunt enough for ya?"

Marko scowled, flicking at a page in the magazine, "real. And yeah, I'm all for gutting and cutting their asses up. But I wanna make it slow. Can't do that if we don't hunt first. Get too excited, especially with this one," he jerked a thumb at Michael, who couldn't help but sit up straighter with a defensive glare.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Awwww, baby Mikey getting all pouty?" Paul cooed, leaning over to ruffle Michael's hair before the younger vampire jerked away with a growl and batted at Paul's hand.

"It means you can't wait and draw it out because you want to eat." Dwayne said, rotating the magazine, scowling at the next picture, "What the hell? Michael, look at this one."

Michael leaned over, examining the picture, "yeah...she doesn't have a face. So?"

"It's fucked up." Kind of odd any of the boys would be calling the pictures in there fucked up.

"Bet she's great in bed. No talking, just enjoys the ride," Marko snickered.

"But she doesn't give head," Paul frowned. "Not worth the trade-off."

"...Tits are nice, though," Michael remarked, leaning back in his seat. "I'm hungry." He really wished this stupid thirst would stop creeping up on him. Seemed like even after he'd fed the night before, he still wanted to eat about ten minutes after they got back to the hotel.

"We'll eat and then head over to your mom's, gotta meet Max tonight. You ready for this?"

Sitting up straight, Michael pondered the question. Ready to see that fucker try and put the moves on his mom? Hell no. Ready to tear his head off? Definitely. Ready to confront Sam? Fuck, that was a loaded question. "Ready as I can be, I guess." Maybe when all was said and done, he'd be able to track Star down later, too, and apologize for not believing her.

"So, what do you feel like eating? Blonde, brunette, male, female?" David grinned, "They've all got their own taste."

"All of the above," Marko grinned. Dwayne smacked the back of his head.

"He wasn't talking to you," Dwayne grumbled, closing his magazine and tossing it behind him.

"Whatever's quickest, I guess. Don't think I've had enough to get picky yet," Michael shrugged.

"Strawberry blond," Paul suggested, "with freckles…"

"Last one of those you ate gave you indigestion." Marko grinned, gnawing his thumb.

"How do freckles even...how...wha…" Michael shook his head. "Right. Whatever. Uh...can we just hurry up and get it over with?"

David chuckled, "Gotta teach you to enjoy yourself more, Michael! Feeding should be fun. I think we can find us some surf nazis on the beach tonight, make it easy."

Paul grinned, "what about those back-ups we're always running into, huh? 5 of them...5 of us now…about time we got rid of them anyway. You always say we're saving them for a special occasion. What's more special than this?" He paused. "I want the strawberry blond."

"Alright, the five bimbos it is, I'm sure we can find them easily enough. Bet they're just waiting for us to show up again. I would say this is special, first real hunt for our newest member." David got to his feet, "Alright boys, let's head out."

David was the first one out, followed by Dwayne. Their bikes were stashed in their usual place, Michael's right beside theirs, as if he'd always been there, always been a part of the pack. Their youngest member wondered how long it would take for him to get used to the fact that this all felt too comfortable to even begin to understand. A part of him just wanted to let go and accept it all without a thought, but it just wasn't going to be that easy for him. He knew if he'd had any idea a few nights ago what he was going to become, he might have fought the boys with all of his strength. Hell, maybe he even would have tried to kill them...but now? Now he was just like them...and it was kind of scary, just pondering the what-ifs.

Paul tossed his hair back and cackled as he revved his engine, "gonna be a great night!" He shouted, sticking his tongue out and giving an enthusiastic headbang.

"You look like an idiot when you do that," Dwayne snorted.

Marko gave Paul's bike a kick as he walked past, nearly toppling him over, "You son of a bitch!" The blonde rocker screeched, swiping at the other vampire.

David grinned, looking at Michael, it felt good to have him here, felt good to have him beside him. In all honesty it felt like he wanted, no, needed more from their youngest member. It was like an itch he couldn't quite scratch as he mounted his bike, his gaze staying on the brunette while his thoughts tormented him. He shook his head, he needed to stay focused, needed to stay on track. The first thing was to hunt, then deal with Max, and after that he could explore these new urges that cropped up after he turned Michael.

" _There's something off about you,_ " Dwayne glanced over at the leader with a frown. " _Michael isn't the only one who's had a change around here._ "

" _Don't even start, I don't know what the fuck is going on but I'll look into it later._ "

As Marko prepared to climb on his bike, he felt claws graze his neck. Frowning, he turned back and Paul shoved a hand over his face, pushing him to the ground and knocking his bike over in the process as he sprawled out. "YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" He hissed, baring his fangs and leaping up to tackle Paul.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Dwayne just rolled his eyes. "I'm not dealing with this tonight. Both of you, chill the hell out. Or _David's_ going to make you, not me this time." They all knew what happened when David had to be the one to break up their stupid fights. And it was never pretty. There was a reason he was in charge, after all.

Michael straddled his bike and watched them curiously. He had the strangest urge to make a bet about who would win…

Marko growled, looking thoughtful for a minute before jumping on Paul anyway, screw David and his wrath. Paul couldn't agree more, digging his hands into Marko's hair and grabbing his braids by the fistful to give them a good yank, hard enough to tear the scalp from a human, and still painful as hell for a vampire.

Dwayne glanced at Michael, "My money's on David." He said, answering the unspoken question on betting.

Michael blinked, surprised, "how…" And then he just decided to try letting it go, which actually didn't feel too bad. "Both of them? Impossible."

"Well, what's your bet?"

David looked at the fighting pair for a moment, his face expressionless as he dismounted his bike and slowly walked toward them.

"Um…" Michael ran a hand through his hair, "loser washes the bikes for a week? That work?"

Dwayne nodded, "Deal."

Marko had his fangs buried in Paul's arm, using one free hand to punch his stomach while Paul stubbornly refused to release his grip on the smaller vampire's hair. "CALL ME DADDY!" Paul shouted, yanking several more times. Emphasizing each syllable as he did.

David stepped forward, grabbing them both by the back of the neck before tearing them apart. Marko's fangs ripped free of his arm, taking a chunk of flesh with it. The smaller vampire got lucky, Paul let got of his hair enough from the pain so he didn't rip his hair out. David was stoic as he slammed them to the ground, pinning them there easily as they struggled, growling and snapping at David while trying to claw at each other.

"ENOUGH!" His voice cut through the night like a knife.

Michael stared, mouth agape, then turned back to Dwayne, "you tricked me!"

"I didn't trick you, I just know David." Dwayne grinned at him, "Fights not over yet though."

Paul glared silently at Marko, trying to swallow, though David's grip on his neck made it somewhat of a challenge. He could back down now, submit to their pack leader, and it would end here. Nobody would think less of him for it, either. But...he did have a switchblade in his pocket...with a triumphant snarl, he yanked it out and threw it directly at one of Marko's flailing legs.

Marko howled, drawing his leg up and trying to shove David away so he could launch himself at Paul anew, but not too successful in his attempt. Fucking bastard was going to die! David slammed his knee into the center of Marko's back to keep him pinned before pulling the switchblade out of his leg and thrusting it through one of Paul's hands, pinning it to the ground. Paul tried to scream, but the pain was so blinding white, no sound came out. With that, a lot of the fight left him, and he relaxed somewhat as he tried to pull his hand free.

He turned his attention to Marko, "Do you submit?" His voice was condescending, his lip curled back in a snarl, but he was cold and calm, "Can you be a good little boy and wait by the bikes if I let you up?" He growled at Paul, warning him to stop pulling. Marko let out a frustrated huff, shifting on the ground until his neck was bared to David, "Good boy." He let him up, his attention focused fully on the blonde rocker, "What about you, Paul? Gonna fight with your brother some more?"

"No," Paul grumbled, almost too quiet to hear.

"I can't hear you." He reached down, grabbing the switchblade and twisting it a little, "Speak up so everyone can hear you."

"FUCK! OKAY! FUCKFUCKFUCK!" Paul howled, baring his neck and continually cursing.

Michael made a mental note to avoid getting on David's bad side.

"Two coats of wax," Dwayne suggested. "That's how I like it."

"Good boy." He pulled the blade free before giving him a pat on the head, "Let's get going." He looked at Michael again, "Just one coat of wax for these two, in fact, you don't have to clean their bikes, they don't get a reward for this."

Marko visibly drooped, "Not fair." He grumbled softly. Paul was too busy licking his bleeding hand to make a complaint.

"I'm not rewarding you for fucking up." David stated calmly, mounting his bike, "Let's get going so we can eat before it's too late." The Triumph roared to life and he took off.

Dwayne smirked, looking over at Paul, "you know...you were right. I think it is gonna be a great night," he took off, following close behind. Michael watched them go, then glanced over at the other two, laughing softly and shaking his head, before he too drove away.

Paul glared after them and then over at Marko, "all your fault," he pouted.

* * *

The boardwalk was busy, people were packed in tight, and David could feel that Max was still at the video store, which was the best news of the night. They had plenty of time to enjoy those five bimbos who like to follow them around like some kind of groupies. And yet, for all the coming festivities, David was still pissed after the stunt Paul and Marko had pulled.

Once they'd parked, Michael couldn't help but watch David, concerned. He had a really bad vibe coming off of him right now. That was the best way to describe it. And while normally, Michael was the sort of guy to just ignore people when they weren't in good moods...he felt an urge to somehow...cheer him up? That was the best way to describe it. It was almost like he felt he should physically comfort him, and that...that was really weird. So he decided in favor of something that made a lot more sense, and was just as good. Humor.

"You two fight so much, why don't you just fuck and get it over with?" Michael joked, giving Paul and Marko a sardonic half-smile.

David chuckled softly, "Isn't that what I heard you two doing the other night? I swear, you were going at it like rabbits." He paused, "Didn't sound like good sex though."

Michael's eyes widened and he held up his hands, "whoa, man...didn't know it was like that. Sorry I said anything. If you're into that stuff, that's cool...sorry." He shook his head, glancing away from them, embarrassed slightly. Who knew?

Dwayne shook his head, "It's not like that. We're not human, we do what we want, what makes us feel good, who cares about gender. Male, female, we don't care, it's all about enjoying ourselves." He paused briefly, "You'll get it, trust me."

"Paul was a total prude in the beginning, wouldn't fuck anything unless it had tits. He got over that pretty quick once he figured out that it's all about the pleasure and that anything can be awesome." David stated, glancing around for the girls.

"Still prefer tits when I have the option, though," Paul supplied helpfully, "but it's all good. Long as it's not complete shit," he glanced back at Marko.

"Haven't you two had enough?" Dwayne inquired dryly when Marko's eyes flashed darkly and he glared at Paul in turn.

Eyes widening in alarm, Michael smiled weakly, "well...you guys can...do what you like...with that." As for him? Yeah. Never going to happen.

Just then, a group of girls seemed to move through the crowd as one, pressed up against each other, as if none of them could move independently of the other. Paul grinned, "let's see if I can remember...Chastity, Divine, Lenore, Belle…" He snapped his fingers repeatedly, trying to recall the last one, but coming up with nothing.

"Shit, Paul, she introduces herself every fucking time! It's Sugar. Remember? Even has that stupid joke she makes, too…" Dwayne just shook his head.

"...Are they horses or something?" Michael quirked an eyebrow. Those were the dumbest names he'd ever heard. Lenore, not so much...but combined...yikes.

"Sometimes I think so, they even roll up side by side, should be pulling a cart." David rolled his eyes, "This'll be the easiest meal all week, they're just gonna come right up to us and be like, bite me."

"Why the hell would anyone want that?" Michael frowned, confused. Considering how much the few meals he'd had so far seemed to have screamed about it, he doubted being bitten was all that fun.

"They're fang bangers, think vampires are all romantic and cool, and vampire bikers, that's like winning the lottery. Of course they don't know we're actual vampires, but hey, it works. I bet if you told them you could make them live forever they'd jump at the idea." Paul said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Go ahead, Michael, you get first dibs." David stated, eyeing Paul, knowing he wants the strawberry blonde.

Michael's eyes swept over the girls thoughtfully as they came closer. They didn't look particularly interesting. Their clothes were a little too tight, maybe. In fact, they all dressed the same...which was just about as weird as the fact that they walked the same too. Kinda like Stepford Wives. At least their hair color was different...so if he was looking up, he could tell the difference between them.

"Ohmygosh, Chastity...look!" One of them squealed, clapping her hands and being the first to step away from the 'unit'.

"I see them, Divine," a girl with black hair replied, tossing her head back with a smile and thrusting her breasts forward. "Hi boys," she affected her huskiest voice...which went just a little too far into chest cold territory.

"Hello, ladies." Oh, how David wanted to be a dick, but this was a celebration, "Meet, Michael." The girls already knew their names, might as well introduce their newest member.

Chastity nodded, "I'm Chastity. My father left when I was four, my mother beats me every night, and because I've never learned how to express my feelings through words, I end up cutting myself to make the pain go away…" She proceeded to tell her un-asked for life's story, which she told them every. Single. Time.

Michael immediately decided he did _not_ want that one.

"This is Divine," Chastity pointed at the first girl who'd spoken up. The strawberry blonde. She giggled and covered her face, turning demurely away and then back just enough to profile her chest as nicely as Chastity had.

"Then there's Sugar," she pointed behind her at another girl in the group, a brunette.

"I'm Sugar," she nodded. "Cause the boys say I'm super sweet...just remember that name, okay? Suuuuugar."

Michael...did _not_ want that one either.

The redhead of the group spoke up next, cutting off Chastity before she could even get started, "I'm Lenore." She slid up closer to Michael, invading his personal space, "And that's Belle." She motioned to the last of the group, platinum blonde curls framing her face. Lenore walked her fingers up his chest, "But that's not really important, what is though is wherever you been all my life?"

"Arizona," Michael stated flatly. He couldn't even begin to pretend he wasn't irritated that she'd decided she had the right to just rub up on him like a cat in heat. It made him feel oddly guarded. Like she was trying to start some kind of fight with him.

Marko bit the thumb of his glove, watching them intently, " _this is going to be sweet. Who wants to eat Sugar?_ "

" _You do_." David stated, " _In fact, I think you should have Sugar and Paul should have Chastity._ "

Lenore giggled, "Are all the boys in Arizona like you."

Belle rolled her eyes, grabbing Lenore's arm and pulling her back, "Back off, skank, if he wants you all over him, he'll let you know."

Michael had made his choice. Sad it had to be the one who bugged him the least. Oh well...a man's gotta eat. "Belle, huh?" He asked with a slight smirk, turning back to David with a shrug and then facing her again.

Belle smiled at him, "Yeah, that's me!" She smiled so very sweetly.

"Lenore is mine." His blue eyes were like cold fire as he looked at her before tamping down his anger and giving her his best smile, "Come here, babe, I'll show you how we do things. You and I, we're gonna have a party."

" _Babe? I've never heard you say babe in your fucking life_ ," Marko bit the thumb of his glove with a smile and winking at Sugar. She looked like her spine was about to melt from the attention. These girls were sickeningly desperate.

Dwayne sighed, that left him with Divine. He nodded over to her, and she blushed, skipping towards him with a soft giggle, "is it true? Are we finally...coming with you boys?" She breathed, practically hyperventilating as she seemed to be mentally focusing on making her top button pop off from her shirt. It didn't happen.

David smirked, "Oh, yeah, you do, we're going to go have some fun, sound good?"

Each of the girls in turn looked like they were about to go into a weird orgasmic seizure of excitement, "ohgodyes!" Chastity squealed, breath coming out in a frenzied rush as Paul nodded over to her and held out his hand. She looked like she was on the verge of madly humping his bike and leg in a bizarre threeway.

Michael looked at Belle with a hint of fear in his eyes. What the hell was wrong with these chicks? Were they mental patients? Belle smiled at him, twirling a lock of hair around a finger, "Soooo, what're we gonna do together?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

David smirked, pulling Lenore toward his bike, "Oh, you'll see." He smirked at the boys, " _I was thinking the train…_ " He glanced at Michael, deciding he really needed to teach him the whole mental conversation.


	10. Chapter 10: No Perfect Family After All

Author's notes:

 _Ran - I think I enjoyed killing these girls off way too much..._

 _Kage - Join the club!_

* * *

Michael was having some serious de ja vous as they parked their bikes, except for the bit with the girls tagging along, of course. It was even foggy like that night in his dreams...well, shit...that hadn't been a dream at all. He'd have to ask David about that flying thing later.

"C'mon, Sugar," Marko gave his selected meal an angelic smile, helping her climb off of his bike. Her thoughts had been just as sickeningly sweet as her name. It had been a tough ride not gagging at the stupid fucking images of wedding bells in a midnight church ceremony surrounded by pop stars and orange and black crepe paper streamers. Her imagination was just as dull as the rest of her. He wondered if he should even bother mentioning how stupid it was to try and drag him to a church while he tore her throat out. Even if they did think the Lost Boys were just 'pretending' to be vampires for some sort of idiotic game, that'd be a pretty fucking poor way to keep up the pretense.

All of the girls had similar thoughts, most of them consisting of the boys in various stages of undress. It was enough to make David sick and he'd actually seen the other boys, well, not Michael...yet, naked at various times.

Lenore didn't seem to want to even climb off of David's bike. It almost looked like she'd fallen into some sort of weird trance, clinging to his back and pressing herself close enough against him to turn into an iron-on bimbo patch. David turned to look at her over his shoulder, "Gonna get off me now?"

She took a deep breath and sighed, nuzzling her nose against his back, almost as if she thought he was a kleenex, "it's so nice out here with you…"

" _Bet you wished you'd picked Chastity,"_ Paul snickered as he waved a hand in front of his own meal. She was frozen stiff on the bike, terrified out of her mind. Apparently didn't take to riding too well. The dozen or so 'near collisions' with a few tree branches hadn't helped. But _he'd_ had fun.

" _At least I didn't give mine a heart attack."_ He groused, "Gotta hop off if you want the fun to really get going."

Belle clung to Michael's back, looking a little pale, "What're we doing out here?"

Michael turned back to her with a small, but slightly creepy smile...he couldn't help it. He was starving. He hadn't had any experience playing weird roles like this with people...and he'd always been a terrible liar, "just gonna go for a walk. Why? Scared? I'll keep you safe. Promise."

She got off his bike, keeping close to him, "Promise? You'll protect me?" She turned her baby blues on him, big doe eyes.

"Uh...yeah. Nobody else will hurt you while I'm around," Michael nodded slowly. Technically not a lie.

Dwayne wordlessly lifted his own companion from his bike, and she squealed with delight at how strong he seemed to be. She had no idea. David rolled his eyes, finally deciding to remove Lenore himself, spinning her around and chuckling softly as she squealed.

"I thought we'd enjoy the view." He led them toward the cliff, chuckling as the girls pressed closer to their chosen vampire. He slung an arm around her shoulders, "See, makes a pretty picture, all the fog…"

Lenore pressed close to him again, practically attaching herself to him at the hip, "fog is so romantic...it makes me think of tombstones, bats, and David Bowie…"

Now she was comparing him to Bowie, not that there was anything wrong with him, great music, but he was better looking! He raised an eyebrow at her, "What's with the talk of tombstones and bats?" He laughed, "What do you think we are?"

"There's…" she lowered her head and voice melodramatically, "...stories."

Marko grinned, "Stories? What kind of stories? Gotta be some good ones."

Divine sighed, looking up at Dwayne, lips trembling...she licked them several times to pointedly moisten them, just so he knew he could kiss her if he wanted. "I don't think they're true at all. Those stories about you guys...and people going missing...I think you're just misunderstood."

"Completely," Paul rolled his eyes. "We're real nice guys when you get to know us. Wouldn't hurt a fly…" Hell, the cave was full of them. Psychopathic fan clubs with poor grasps on reality, on the other hand...completely different story, "Well, except Marko. Little imp can't help himself, can you, Marky?"

Marko narrowed his eyes, sorely tempted to break the charade and break Paul's jaw.

" _What did I tell you two about behaving?"_ David glared at them both for a moment, "What do you think, Michael? Are we misunderstood?"

Michael paused thoughtfully. Well, _he'd_ definitely misunderstood the boys...and now, here he was. Stuck with them. "Definitely. We're practically angels," he nodded in agreement, giving the girl on his arms another smile. Yep, still a pretty creepy one. But she was too delusional right now to realize it. Game or not, he was getting really antsy. How long were they going to play this out? He wanted to eat!

Divine licked her lips several more times, beginning to resemble a lizard, as frequently as she was sticking out her tongue, "I knew it. You're...deep down you're all sensitive and lonely. You've just been waiting for the right girl to bring that out," she pointedly looked at the rest of her friends, and for a moment...they shared a venomous look.

" _Holy shit, these girls must be kinky…"_ Paul shook his head, stifling a laugh. His own companion, having finally seemed to recover somewhat, misinterpreted it as nervous joy to finally be with her after months of watching her from afar. His smile faded abruptly.

As the boys crossed over the bridge, Michael stopped and peered over the side curiously. Had he really been dumb enough to jump down there? Belle clung to him tighter before finally trying to put the moves on him, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him. David growled softly, couldn't help himself, but he manage to cut it off before it was too noticeable. Still, it got Michael's attention, and he turned back to give David a curious look, ignoring his companion for a moment, despite the fact that she really seemed to be trying to suffocate him. He glanced back at her and just then seemed to notice the kissy face she was pulling. "You've got...a lot of lipstick," he said, not really sure how to even begin to say that like it was a compliment. Her lips looked more cosmetic than flesh.

She didn't let that deter her, pressing her ruby lips to his, trying to get as close to him as she could. His eyes widened in surprise, and before he could think, he reacted. What he'd thought would be a gentle push to distance them enough (and get the funky taste of cheap wine coolers mixed with bubblegum out of his mouth) turned into an overly-aggressive shove, and before he knew it...she was plummeting over the side of the bridge.

"Shit!" Michael cursed, eyes widening as he peered after the girl, who was now screaming bloody murder into the fog.

David kept a firm grip on Lenore, "There's still time, you could catch…" There was a sickening crack and he mock cringed, "Nevermind." He shrugged, "Well, Michael, looks like you lost your meal," He paused, watching his expression, "I'll share mine with you."

Sugar was the first to scream, seeing Marko's face slide into his natural form, "Finally! Damn, was taking forever!"

Dwayne didn't wait. He immediately covered his own companion's mouth to keep her screams from giving him a headache, and dug his fangs deep into her neck. He didn't even have to pull her very close, she'd already been clinging to him like flypaper anyway.

Michael crossed his arms, frowning and looking down at his feet as his face morphed. It was getting easier. "I wanted my own," he pouted, walking towards David. But half a meal was better than nothing. He'd just have to suck it up.

David pulled her head to the side, keeping a firm grasp on her as she struggled, "You can even bite first, Michael." The invitation of her bared throat was too much to resist, and the brunette quickly surged forward to sink his fangs into the skin. It was going to be difficult not to drain her before David got a taste. He wasn't even sure he could, unless they both drank at the same time. He growled deep in his throat, eyes darting up to David's face, meeting his gaze. He got a funny feeling in his gut doing that, and wasn't sure if it was related to the hunger or not. David licked his lips, driving his fangs into her wrist, looking at Michael as he fed, letting Michael have the majority of it.

Paul spun Divine around, laughing as she screamed before he dug in. It was nice not having to share with Marko for once! The little piggy always got more than half of it before Paul even got a bite in, most of the time. Even now, he could actually hear Marko practically snorting over his own meal.

There was something about feeding with Michael that soothed him. It felt like something was perfect, something just settled right into place as they fed together. Dwayne watched them, eyes narrowed slightly, seeming to sense that something was different. Marko and Paul didn't care, happy to enjoy their meals. He had an inkling that when Max was out of their hair, that wouldn't be the end of the weird changes in David. Hell, it might even make them worse.

* * *

Max smiled, whistling softly as he fixed his bow-tie. Tonight was the night. Tonight he would have his family, his perfect, whole family. Lucy would be his wife and the boys would finally have a mother and two new brothers! It was an exciting prospect for him. They could sit down for dinner together, have movie nights and go out on trips, camping in the woods. He hummed softly as he headed for the door, grabbing his keys. He could finally get the boys out of that old hotel and into something more civilized. He gave Thorn a pat on the head as he walked past, the hellhound looking up at him worriedly. The dog didn't think this was a good idea but he didn't know any better! Of course this was good, he could finally have what he wanted, and everyone would live happily ever after.

* * *

Lucy busily chopped parsley at the kitchen counter, letting the fragrance of the herbs waft over her and calm her nerves. She was _very_ upset at her eldest right now. Girl or not, or drugs, or whatever was making him disappear for longer and longer increments of time like this...she just couldn't understand it. He'd always been good and mostly well-behaved. And when he was a little boy, he used to be so sensitive. She smiled to herself at the memory of finding out he'd stolen a quarter from her rainy day change jar when she caught him trying to sneak it back in...she scooped up a handful of parsley and dumped it over the generous batch of pasta primavera she'd prepared. He'd cried so much that day.

When was the last time they'd spent more than ten minutes talking together if they weren't driving somewhere? She rubbed her hands off on a kitchen towel and sighed, unable to even begin to come up with an answer for that. She'd called work today to stay home in hopes that he'd show up at some point and they could have that conversation she'd been hoping for, but he'd yet to show up. At least Sam and dad seemed to be getting along now, though. They'd been practically inseparable all day, and for a large portion of the early evening.

She was sure she'd made the right decision by telling Max she just didn't think dating was possible right now. Maybe when Michael got home, dad could talk to him too and figure out a way to get him to settle down. Until then, she'd just have to remain home on her evenings off. Max had seemed to understand well enough, because he hadn't even asked since they'd had that discussion. It was just as well. He seemed to be very intent on pushing things much faster than she would have liked. Another relationship like that couldn't end well for anyone.

"Sam! Dad!" Lucy called out, "dinner's ready!"

In the living room, Sam fingered a cross around his neck, looking nervously over at a wall clock and then back at his grandpa, "if they were gonna kill us tonight...they'd be here already, right?"

"You'd already be dinner if they were gonna do anything tonight. I don't see one boys doing anything, at least not right now." He paused, "They're pretty impulsive, they'd just do it if they were going to. I'd be more worried about your brother. We don't know what they've done, we don't know what has changed with him, and things have changed. We gotta be prepared, they'll come at some point, but we're safe for the night."

And that's when there was a knock at the door, "I'll get it!" Lucy called out, rushing from the kitchen with a wooden spoon in her hand as she tasted the butter sauce she'd prepared, licking her lips.

Sam's eyes widened comically, and he rushed from the room, "mom, WAIT!"

"Michael Emerson, you get in here this _instant!_ " Lucy snapped as Sam drew up behind her, squeaking and holding the cross up in front of him defensively. This was it. They were going to die.

"GRANDPA!" Sam practically screamed.

He rushed around the corner, spry for an old man, "Michael…" He looked out at him, realizing he just got an invitation as he looked past him, seeing David and the others behind him, "You're not comin' in here."

Michael looked at his mother with wide, apologetic eyes. Part of it wasn't an act. He really was sorry he'd put her through more than her fair share of hell in the past several days, and was likely about to put her through something much worse...but he wasn't about to go inside unless his brothers could follow. Funny, that word didn't seem too odd to him anymore. "Mom...these are my friends…" He said pathetically, "can't they just come in for a few minutes?"

Lucy looked over at her father warily, and then back at Michael and the boys behind him. She wasn't really sure what to say, or whether she really liked the looks of the boys with him, either. They were likely a large part of the reason her son was acting up so much. She took a deep breath and lowered her spoon, putting a hand on her hips, "fine. They can come in."

David's smile grew, "Why, thank you, don't mind if we do." He smirked at Sam and Grandpa as he stepped through the door. All that painting with holy oil gone to waste.

"Got any Oreos?" Marko asked, practically bouncing inside.

Michael stepped in after them, glancing over at his brother with a slight frown, unsure exactly what to say or think about him right now. He still had no idea what that issue back at the cave that afternoon had been about, or whether Sam had come there to stake him too. He looked back at Lucy and smiled, pulling her into a hug, "sorry about disappearing like that, mom. I just had a lot of things to...do..."

Unable to think of what to do, Sam yanked the cross from around his neck and threw it at David's face with a squeak. "TAKE THAT!"

"Sam...what on earth is wrong with you?!" Lucy rounded on her youngest and looked as if she thought he'd completely lost his mind.

"Perfectly alright, Mrs. Emerson." David smirked at Sam as he spoke, loving the effects of an invite, being perfectly polite, "He's just a kid, can't blame him, bet he reads too many comics."

Lucy's expression softened, looking away from Sam, "yes. I've been meaning to talk to him about that…" She took a deep breath and clasped her hands together, "I'm sorry... _why_ are you here with my son? Did he invite you for dinner?"

Sam's jaw dropped, and he looked back at his grandfather helplessly. What was going on?! Why didn't they explode? That's what was supposed to happen...wasn't it? Grandpa looked at Sam, shaking his head, they were invited now, made them safe from a lot of their usual weaknesses.

"Yes, he did, thought we should finally meet his family. Been looking forward to it."

Lucy sighed, "well...I guess there's nothing for it." She looked over at Michael accusingly, "a warning would have been nice, but I think there might be enough for all of you." She looked back at Marko with a small, polite smile, "you'll have to ask dad about those Oreos...I don't think Sam has any in the pantry."

Dwayne shook his head, "he doesn't need Oreos."

Paul nodded with a wide grin, "piggie's already had enough tonight. Doesn't even need dinner."

Marko looked disappointed, visibly deflating, "It smells so good though!"

David glanced toward outside, "You expecting guests?" He could hear the rumble of a car and feel Max coming toward the house.

Lucy frowned, stepping towards the still open door and peeking outside, "that's odd...it looks like Max's car...but I didn't invite him over…" She looked more than a little uncomfortable. He'd just crossed a line she hadn't expected.

"That nerd from the video store?" Marko grinned, "What a dick!"

Michael slugged Marko in the shoulder, "don't cuss around my mom."

Marko looked sheepish, "Sorry, ma'am." He snickered softly earning a smack upside the head from David.

Lucy quickly closed the door and locked it, too distracted by her nervous fear of this new development to really notice what they were saying, "boys...I think you should go to the kitchen. I'll deal with this…" She glanced over at a phone sitting on a table by the door. How long would it take the police to get there, if she had to call them? Hopefully not too long...not that she thought Max would do anything crazy, but...well this was just the sort of thing a crazy person would do, showing up at night without an invitation. "Dad...do you still have that shotgun?"

He nodded, "Not sure what good it's gonna do." He mumbled, going to go get a stake instead.

David and the others went to the kitchen but made sure they could see what was going to happen at the door, "You ready, Michael?" David asked softly.

Michael glared through the kitchen doorway, clenching his fists and resisting the urge to growl. He was already on the defensive. The idea that Max was actually here, and the plans he seemed to have in mind for his mom and brother...he wanted to rip the bastard's throat out. Who did he think he was?!

Sam peeked through the door, eyes still wide, keeping his back pressed up against the doorframe, "you...you guys had better not hurt my mom...grandpa knows how to take care of you…" he looked over at Michael nervously, and then back at the others, "and...please don't kill me, Mike. I'm essentially a good kid...and I'm your brother, okay? You remember that? I'm your brother…"

David raised an eyebrow, "Not here to hurt you, yet. Maybe if you can behave yourself Michael won't eat you. Ultimately it's up to him unless you really piss me off." He rolled his eyes, "It's not like he has amnesia but you were gonna stake him and us so I think he has the right to be a little pissed and so do we."

Michael remained silent, crossing his arms and glaring at Sam. He was more than a little irritated at his little brother right now, whether he honestly planned to eat him or not. And he didn't.

"I wasn't gonna stake him! I was trying to get him outta there and take him home!" Sam defended, looking back and forth between them, "you gotta believe me, Mike!"

Paul squinted, "he'd be dust...you know that, right? You'd have toasted him if you pulled that shit off…"

"Kind of hard to get out of there and back here without the sun, Michael would be crispy chicken." Marko glared at him, protective of his brother.

"Toast," Dwayne echoed the others, drawing up his shoulders and stepping a little closer to Michael.

As for Michael, he really could have done without the imagery, "okay...I think we've got it. Can we change the subject?"

"Not gonna let you or anyone else take out any of us, clear?" David stated, glancing toward the door, seeing Max get out of his car.

Sam took a step back, edging a bit further away from the kitchen door, and the vampires therein. So it was finally out in the open...there was no hope for saving Michael. A part of him had known that, just didn't want to accept it. Clenching his fists, he remained silent. He didn't care what these shit-suckers said. If he found a way to get his brother away from them, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Michael watched his brother silently, not really sure what to say. This had gotten really awkward really fast. On some level, he was glad Sam had tried to come _save_ him, if only because the idea that he would have wanted to kill him instead really stung. But he didn't belong in their territory, and Michael didn't doubt there wouldn't be a point where asking David and the others to politely abstain from shredding his little brother to pieces just didn't cut it. "Just let it go, Sam. I'm fine. We're not going to hurt any of you."

Lucy waited at the front door for Max to approach, nervously tapping a toe on the ground. Really, what reason could he have to be here? It just didn't make any sense! She'd get an answer from him first, and then unfortunately, she realized she'd probably have to resign from her job too. Working for a man who didn't seem to comprehend a polite 'no', and who thought he could simply show up at her home uninvited...that wasn't really Lucy's idea of a smart career path. And here she'd thought he was so nice, too.

Max smiled at her, walking up to the door, "Lucy, I wanted to speak with you about something important, may I come in?"

David hoped she would just say no, it would make this so much easier. Max didn't need the benefits that they had gained from the invite, besides, his weakness, his...humanity, wasn't going to play in his favor so this was just a bonus. He knew Max could feel them, knew they were there and that made the bastard smug. Marko had a knuckle in his mouth to stop himself from laughing. At least he had some sense!

"I think if there's anything you have to say to me, Max, you can say it on the porch," she informed him firmly. Sam slipped away from the kitchen, eyes still locked on the door as he headed towards Lucy, standing behind her and gaping at Max in the doorway. Not the best time for that big weirdo to show up...he was half-tempted to tell him to just blow off.

His smile fell before he saw David and the others step out of the kitchen, "I see you've met my boys, see, boys need a mother." He pressed past her, not seeming to sense the holy oil or if he did, he didn't care. His face twisted, "Like you."

Lucy shrieked and Sam shouted, kneeling down to scoop up the cross he'd thrown at David earlier, and tossing it directly in Max's open mouth. The vampire screamed, quickly spitting it out and growling at Sam, lips curled back in anger. He lashed out, grabbing Lucy and pulling her close.

"David, why don't you collect your new brother?" Max hissed through sharp fangs. His eyes narrowed when David didn't move, "I said…" His eyes grew wide when he looked at Michael, hearing loud and clear why none of them were moving to help him.

"We heard what you said." The bleach blonde stepped forward, "The little twerp isn't our new brother and she isn't going to be our mother. You've lived with, as, them too long. You're weak and stupid."

"And a jackass," Dwayne added.

"The king of jackasses," Paul nodded sagely.

Lucy's eyes darted towards the group of boys, focused on her eldest son, very confused and very terrified at the same time. Right now, the only thing holding Michael back from immediately going on the attack was the fact that this nutcase could probably slash his mom's throat before he even got near him. They'd have to get her out of his clutches, first. He snarled, "Sam. Go upstairs... _now._ "

Sam tried beating uselessly at Max's hands around his mother, "no! I'm not leaving mom!"

Grandpa grabbed his arm, seeming to appear out of nowhere and pulled him toward the stairs, "Don't want to be between them, boy."

David stepped forward, "Let's deal with this our way, winner takes all, let her go and we can get started."

Max growled, "I think not. She's mine!"

David glanced at Michael, who looked over at him, waiting for a signal to let loose. He was having quite a bit of trouble not just snapping then and there. "Go for it." David grinned, unleashing _his_ boys on the elder vampire.

Soon, all of them had dropped their human masks, and if Lucy wasn't already going mad with terror, she certainly would have then, "oh my god...what have you done to my baby?!" She exclaimed, struggling in Max's arms, stomping her heel and grinding it deep into his foot. Max roared and released her, pushing her away as he went on the defensive.

Michael immediately dived for his mother, pulling her to her feet and into his arms, pressing his face against the top of her head, "sorry mom. Talk later, huh?" He scooped her up and dashed towards the stairs, gazing up at his grandfather who'd managed to get halfway up with a struggling Sam. "Mind taking her, gramps?" He knelt down to settle Lucy at the bottom of the steps, kissing her forehead and shrugging helplessly before dashing back to join the fight.

Dwayne and Paul exchanged a look, grinning as they dashed to the front door, blocking any chance Max might have at escaping, if he lost his nerve. There was no telling with a nutcase like him.

Max snarled, looking between them, crouching down low, he didn't have anywhere to go. David stepped forward, standing in front him and looking down.

"I'm going to tear you apart." He hissed, tackling him to the ground and lashing out, claws digging furrows into his chest, his lips pulled back in a snarl.

Max struggled, a look of realization spreading across his face, in this moment, they were stronger than him. He writhed, biting into David's arm. The bleach blonde roared, rearing back.

Marko skittered out of the room and returned in less than a minute, arms loaded up with various kitchen implements, and wiggling his eyebrows at the others suggestively, "load up...let's play some target practice!"

Michael's eyes slid towards a phone on the wall, and he quickly unhooked the chord, nailing Max's head in one swift pitch. There was a reason he'd been so good at Baseball back in Phoenix.

Paul ripped the doorknob from the door and took his own shot, before Dwayne knocked him upside the back of his head, "don't break shit, dumbass. We're guests here," he sighed, glancing back at Max and David. The main fight here wasn't theirs. It was David's. "Marko...hand me something sharp…"

Marko grinned, breaking off a table leg, "This'll work!" of course he had just broken something but hey, they needed it!

David glanced at Dwayne and Paul, "Pin him down." The pair grabbed his arms and pulled them above his head, Max struggling the whole time, finally releasing David's arm at least, "Hand it over." He held his hand out for the smaller vampire and received the stake without any further ceremony, "Any last words?" David grinned down at him, admiring the bloody mess they had made of the nerdy vampire.

"You're a fool! All of you! We were going to have the perfect family!"

Michael stepped forward and gave Max a good, swift kick in the side.

He grunted, looking up at Michael pleadingly, "You would have had a family that loves you, forever!"

David raised an eyebrow, "Wow, and I thought you couldn't get any lower." He looked at each of the boys in turn, "Anything you want to say to daddy before…" He drew a thumb across his neck.

Paul looked thoughtful, "well...guess it doesn't hurt to come out with it. Max, dad...daddy...I'm the one who pissed in your bird bath."

Marko smiled down at him, "And I fed Thorne the chocolate cake last summer."

Max looked so pathetic and lost as David grinned down at him, "Michael? Dwayne?"

Michael shrugged, "I'm not that kind. I don't think I ever rewind…"

The others looked at him incredulously. "What? I don't even know the guy! That's the best I've got."

Dwayne smirked and shook his head, "you know those gardeners you get who always seem to go missing? Yeah...we eat them."

David grinned, "As for me, I never liked your whole, family idea. We have our pack, we're not human, idiot."

"Uh...Davey…" Marko raised his eyebrows at their leader. Now, and forevermore, of their pack and city. He impatiently raised an arm and made a stabbing gesture.

David chuckled softly, driving it down hard into his chest. The vampire screamed, jerking beneath them as they watched him die. David stepped back, standing over him. It wasn't pretty. The screaming alone was enough to shatter every single window on the bottom story of the house...something Michael didn't doubt he'd get shit for later if he dropped by to pay a visit, while he covered his ears and squinted. And then, right around the area the table leg had broken through his chest cavity and pierced his heart, the wood began to smoulder. Soon, smoke turned to full-out flames, eating away at the flesh around it. Max's screams slowly became reduced to simply painful wails, and then finally...a long death rattle.

"Well, that was...interesting." David felt stronger, the moment he had driven that stake in he had felt something, something more. He closed his eyes for a moment, reveling in the strength that flowed through him, filled him up.

The others felt it too, the shifting of the energy in the air...like white hot heat prickling at their skin, surging from Max's burning corpse and fading just as quickly as it had appeared.

"I feel...good." David stretched and rolled his head, cracking his neck.

Marko bit the thumb of his glove, "you want us to leave you and the burning corpse alone together?"

David narrowed his eyes at him, "You wanna watch your mouth?" Okay, so maybe he was being a little testy but he just felt a little...different, stronger, "Let's go find something to kill, I have too much energy." He headed for the door, something was very wrong...

Michael crouched down to poke at the glowing cinders. Max had burnt strong and quick. Good thing, too, because he wasn't sure how they'd be able to put the flames out if they lit the house on fire. His eyes darted back up towards David, curiously. The others watched him as well.

"What's up?" Paul asked, frowning.

David raised an eyebrow, "Pretty sure I was clear on that." He headed for the door.

"See, that's what happens when you have to share. Makes you all bitchy...that's why-" Marko began, only to find Dwayne clapping a hand over his mouth.

David growled softly, golden eyes flashing, "Was the lesson earlier not enough? We can go again."

Michael dusted off his hands, straightening up and glancing back towards the stairs...maybe he'd hang back and help clean up for a bit...they could pick him up when David was done eating, he thought, feeling more than his fair share of guilt for the mess they'd made. Somehow, he was sure, they could have figured out a way to take it outside.

"Let's go." He stepped outside, expecting the others to follow.

"David…" Dwayne's voice was soft, placating, "Let Michael say goodbye to his family first, please." He internally cringed, he hated talking like this, hated showing any form of submission, but David was on edge. Something had happened and none of them knew what it was.

David paused, looking back at Michael, "Ten minutes."

Michael frowned, tempted to argue...but seeing how bitchy David was acting right now, he decided maybe...maybe not. "Ten minutes?"

"Ten minutes and we're leaving." He stated firmly, "I'll be outside."


	11. Chapter 11: Bittersweet Ending

Author's notes:

Ran - _Just a warning here, there's some explicit material in this chapter. Surprise surprise, Michael and David._

Kage - _Yeah, they get a little...overwhelmed…_

 _Ran - They bang, guys. They just...bang._

* * *

A month after the mess at the Emerson house, things seemed to have fallen into a nice routine for the boys. No Max to bother them, or errands for them to run in order to make sure his businesses went unhindered. No more ridiculous discussions about family and bonding...which were mainly one-sided, anyway. Especially since most of them consisted of Max instructing each and every member of the pack how he'd dress for their first Christmas card...they really were much better off without him. And even if Michael may not have experienced the brunt of his insanity, he'd certainly seen enough of the bastard to know he didn't like him. Trying to turn his mother and little brother notwithstanding.

Of course, there were still a few unresolved issues. The main one in question being a certain agitation that seemed to hang in the air. Michael could feel it, even as inexperienced as he was, and he wasn't sure what to think. Sometimes he'd look at their leader and catch a funny look, get a strange feeling in the pit of his gut like he was expected to say something. But he didn't know what. So he'd ignore it...and maybe an hour or so later, they'd go for a hunt. Funny thing, David had once said he could go up to three days without feeding. Now he seemed to be eating a lot more than even Michael.

And tonight, David was outside looking after his bike...someone had gotten into a fender bender with their pack leader. Now he didn't have a fender or a head to bend anymore. The rest of them were relaxing in the hotel lobby...especially Paul. Tonight was not one of his more sober nights, and Michael could tell, even as distracted as he was with the walkman he'd filched off of said fender bending victim. He tried to ignore it, though, relaxing on the couch and closing his eyes while Freddie Mercury sang about breaking free.

Paul grinned, slightly stumbling toward him, a huge grin splitting his face, "Heeeeeey, Mikey…" He licked his lips, "How's it goin'?" The smile he gave was supposed to be seductive but he was high and Michael wasn't impressed.

Michael flicked a claw over the volume on his walkman and cranked it up.

Marko stroked one of his pigeons and sat on the fountain, smirking privately. He knew that funny look Paul had on his face...this was going to be good.

Paul slid closer, reaching out, fingers going through Michael's hair, "Ya know, been think', you, me," he waggled his eyebrows, "we could have some fun."

Growling, Michael jerked his headphones down and gave Paul a good shove, "fuck off, man. I'm trying to relax here, and I've told you before I'm not now, _nor will I ever_ be into that shit!" He reached up to smooth back his hair. He hated when people touched his hair.

"Aww, come on, Mikey, I'll make it so good for your sexy, virgin ass." Paul wasn't giving up, he moved back close to him.

Michael gagged, "real pretty mental image, Paul. Thanks." He stood up and very pointedly crossed the lobby to sit down on the fountain, well away from Paul and his freaky drug-addled libido. "Stay away from me, dude. I mean it…" He glanced at Marko beside him. "Why don't you take care of it for him, huh?"

"Because, he's an inconsiderate asshole." Marko grumbled.

Paul didn't seem deterred, if anything he was even more determined to get into Michael's pants. He slid up to him again ,"Come on, baby, I promise it'll be _so_ good."

Michael stared at him incredulously. It was like he was prancing around in the cave dressed like a dragged-out whore, the way this guy was talking to him right now. "Last warning," he narrowed his eyes, setting his walkman aside after having safely and calmly wrapped up the headphones.

Paul leaning close, moving in to kiss him. Michael's fist sailed right towards those puckered lips. Paul's eyes went wide as that fist impacted his jaw but in a flash he tackled the younger vampire, growling lowly. Michael hissed up at him, baring his fangs and kicking off his boots so he could use his clawed feet to dig into Paul's stomach and push. Paul howled, grabbing at Michael's hair and yanking. He always went for the hair. Michael screeched and managed to land another punch on Paul's face, dislodging the claws in his scalp. For a few short seconds, he managed to get the upper hand and pin Paul to the ground, even trying to stand up and cross the lobby, before Paul grabbed his ankle and yanked him back down. They were spitting and hissing again, clawing and tearing at each other's jackets. As they were rolling around on the floor David decided to make an appearance.

"What the fuck is going on in here?" His voice echoed through the hotel, eyes flashing as he saw red. Paul was on top of Michael, only for a moment before they were off and rolling again but it was enough to thoroughly piss him off.

"Girls were getting hot and bothered," Marko smirked, poking the sleeping bear. Because fuck Paul.

David's gaze focused on _his_ fledgling and the blonde rocker, "Get off." He snarled, grabbing Paul and pulling him off, snarling lowly, teeth bared.

Dwayne lowered the magazine he was reading, glancing over at the scene for the first time and then back down at an article he was fascinated by...he smirked, watching the drama play out in front of him.

David clamped his teeth down on the back of Paul's neck, pinning him there, showing his dominance. The moment he went limp, he let him go, turning his gaze to Michael.

"Do you submit?" He growled lowly, golden eyes focused on _his_ fledgling.

Eyeing him warily, Michael propped himself up on his elbows with a frown, "I didn't even do anything. I was just listening to my fucking music," he said quietly.

" _Just submit, show your throat and submit."_ Michael still couldn't quite communicate without words yet but he could hear them and understand.

"Submit to what?! It wasn't my fault!" Michael protested, digging his hole. He couldn't believe this shit! Not once did he ever start a fight, and now he was being told to submit like he was a little bitch?!

Dwayne shrugged, he tried, " _Suit yourself, this is all you."_

David was on him in a flash, pinning him to the ground, pressing the length of his body along the young vampire's back, before driving his fangs into the side of his neck. He had done this countless times before, especially to Paul and Marko, but he had never felt anything like this before. It felt...right.

Michael howled, clawing at the ground beneath him and trying to scratch at the earth, doing his best not to shove David away and make the pain worse. What's more...something beyond that. _Fuck_...no! This felt way better than it should...he began to panic, and if his heart could still beat, it would be hammering in his chest in fear. Quickly, he settled down, not wanting to explore this fucked up feeling he was getting. He grew still and hoped David got the message. He was done fighting.

David let out a final growl before pulling back slowly, his tongue chasing the last traces of blood, "Good boy." He rumbled, his voice running through him, making him feel even better before David got to his feet, his tongue chased the taste, it was addicting.

"That good?" Marko snickered, letting his pigeon take flight and glancing back at Dwayne. The other vampire shrugged, lifting up his magazine and going back to his reading. Meanwhile, Paul pouted in the corner.

David growled softly, feeling calmer than he had in awhile, ever since he dealt with Max, "Tomorrow night we're going out to the boardwalk, need to get out of here for awhile…" What he really wanted to do was explore this feeling more, see what it was about Michael that calmed him down.

As for Michael, who'd climbed to his feet and snatched up his walkman, he would be more than happy to pretend... _that_...had never happened. Damn it, why couldn't Star have stuck around? At least he'd have an outlet. He sighed, putting his headphones back on and sitting down on the couch, glaring over at Paul...who had effectively ruined what had been a pretty good night for him before.

Dwayne looked at his magazine again before glancing at David and then back down, yeah, he had a good idea about exactly what was going on with their pack leader.

* * *

Star hitched up her skirt, examining the scrape on her calf. She'd never tire of seeing how long it took for scratches to heal now...she smiled privately to herself and knelt down to press the cloth of her skirt against the scrape and ease the bleeding. She couldn't believe it when a month ago she'd woken up in the morning...no hunger...human. What's more, she'd fallen asleep practically in a frenzy, had even come to the point where she'd decided to finally give in and feed the next night. Laddie at her side would have as well...she'd been the only one holding him back.

But when she realized she was human again, she'd happily taken him home, started living life again. She didn't know why it had happened; she didn't even want to know...she was just happy it had. And now that she was back in Santa Carla to visit Laddie before heading to Washington to track down her family, she knew she'd never go back to that cave or...whatever might still be lurking in there. Taking a deep breath, Star headed inside a clothing shop with a toss of her hair and a light-hearted smile.

* * *

Getting back on the boardwalk was liberating. David felt like he was back in his element. Michael and the boys were with him, everything was going just the way it should be. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, breathing in the smells of the boardwalk. He paused, eyes narrowing slightly, there was a smell, a familiar one. One that he had hoped to never encounter again. Star. What was she doing back in _his_ city? He took in another breath, sniffing the air. She was still here, the scent was too strong for her to be gone. This was something that was going to have to be dealt with and soon.

Dwayne eyed David thoughtfully. He could smell her too, but it didn't really bother him overly much. She smelled human. She also didn't have a fighting bone in her body...if she showed up, it probably had nothing to do with them. " _I was reading a magazine last night,_ " he began conversationally, keeping his thoughts between him and David.

David glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, " _What about?"_

Shrugging, Dwayne avoided looking at Michael so as not to draw his attention, and stepped closer to David, peering at him intently. Hoping he'd catch on. " _Wolves. Mating. We're a lot like wolves, David. You know, alpha males...they kind of have a need to do it. I mean, we don't breed, so I can't imagine it has much to do with offspring...if it's something one of us would do, too._ "

He scowled slightly, " _Are you saying you want to be my mate?"_ He looked confused, Dwayne had never said anything about it before, " _Haven't mentioned it before…"_

Dwayne looked at him incredulously, " _I was talking about Michael._ "

David growled softly, " _You want to mate Michael."_ His eyes flashed gold for a moment, only Dwayne able to see.

Throwing his hands up, Dwayne just shook his head and snorted, " _David...sometimes you're dumber than Paul._ "

He scowled, looking thoughtful, " _What? I should mate him?"_ And that thought wasn't totally unappealing, not at all.

"Where are you going, Mikey?" Marko peered over at Michael, who'd pushed away from his bike.

"I was going to go look at some jackets...asshole over there ripped my sleeve," he nodded back at Paul, who scowled at him in turn. Still a little moody about the previous night, apparently.

David watched him go thoughtfully, mulling over Dwayne's thoughts about wolves and mates. Maybe he was right, maybe he needed a mate to even out all this insanity he was feeling. He didn't want to wind up like Max, he wouldn't let that happen. He went back to his bike, leaning against it and looking up at the stars.

* * *

Star smiled, she felt safe, it was nice to be back here. She did have good memories even with all that had happened and they did have some of the best clothes. She pulled a skirt off the rack, holding it up to herself and looking in the mirror. Mirrors! It was still so novel.

Michael poked his head through the door, glancing around. This was where he'd bought his jacket last time. Sure, he could just mend it...but he didn't see any harm in getting a spare, anyway. Chances were he'd probably have to deal with Paul's bullshit again in the future, judging by how moody he was acting. Seriously, what was it with that guy? He shook his head with a snort and perused through a few racks of clothes, idly searching for a new shirt too. Why he kept wearing white, he hadn't a clue. Taking a deep breath, he looked up and met the eyes of a nervous sales clerk. Everybody seemed scared of him these days. He wished he could say he didn't kind of like that. "Hey, miss, you got another jacket like this one?" He rasped, plucking at his sleeve.

She gave him a nervous smile, "I'll check in the back...just wait at the jewelry counter…" she nodded behind her and rushed away. He watched her leave, and he couldn't help but lick his lips. He was getting hungry...but that could wait. Shrugging, he strode over to the jewelry counter and leaned against it. His eyes fell on a cute chick standing near a mirror...well, she looked cute from behind anyway. Reminded him of Star, actually. Sneakily, he gave her a wolf whistle. She whirled to face him, eyes going wide at seeing Michael standing there.

"Star?!" He asked incredulously. That one threw him for a loop!

She held the skirt tight to her chest, "Michael. A-Are you alright? Umm, are you…?" She swallowed hard.

He cracked into a wide smile. Couldn't help himself. "Yeah, better than fine. I'm great…" He pushed away from the counter and walked towards her, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets, "how about you? Been alright?" He leaned in closer, sniffing at the air around her just slightly. She was human. Good for her.

She smiled slightly at him, "Good, I'm good, I came to see Laddie. I'm so glad to see you." She didn't notice the sniffing, thankfully, "I'm relieved." Her smile grew a little. She looked over him, "You're still wearing the coat." She paused at his ear, spotting the earring, not quite putting two and two together though. Of course she thought the boys were dead, how else would she be human?

"Ah, yeah," he shrugged. "Was going to get a new one, but I don't think I have enough cash for that _and_ a burger." He quirked an eyebrow, "I think I still owe you one, don't I?"

She laughed and nodded, "Yes, I think you do!"

"Great!" He exclaimed, offering her an arm. Maybe he could convince her to come back...at least get David to chill out a bit. He'd seemed mellow when they first met, and the only explanation Michael had come up with thus far was because Star had been around to keep him calm. Sure, he acted like he didn't want her around, like he was glad to be rid of her...had said it a few times...but Michael was certain that _had_ to be bluster. Otherwise, there just didn't seem to be any explanation for it.

* * *

Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes since Michael went to get a new coat. Twenty minutes and there was still no sign of him. David was getting antsy, his fingers drumming against the seat of his bike. Paul and Marko had run off to do who knows what, but Dwayne had stayed with him while he waited for Michael's return.

"What's taking so long?" David grumbled, picking at his nails, he felt antsy, on edge.

"If you're that worried about it, just go find him," Dwayne shrugged, disinterested. He'd given his advice for the night, and that was more than enough. "I'm going to go grab a bite to eat," he turned away from David and strode off down the boardwalk.

The scent of sizzling burgers and Star permeated the air at a burger shack just at the edge of the boardwalk. Dwayne drew to a halt, looking behind him towards David, and then back in the direction of the burger shack. He could smell Michael there, too...well...shit. This wasn't going to turn out well...maybe he'd keep it to himself. Actually, maybe not...if David found out he knew, he'd shit a brick. And as insanely aggressive as he'd been acting lately, especially in regards to Michael, the risk wasn't worth it. "You should grab a burger, David," he threw back over his shoulder...doubting the pack leader would really catch his subtle hint until he saw it for himself. Considering how their last conversation went.

David scowled slightly but he headed that way. There was a problem. He smelled the cooking meat but it was what else he smelled, Michael and...Star. He held back a growl, moving a little faster toward his...his what? Fledgling, future mate? Whatever Michael was it was important to him.

Star smiled at Michael, this was one of the best times she'd had in a long time. She laughed, taking a bite of her food, watching the brunette across from her. Whatever had happened she felt lucky, lucky they had both survived, come out of everything human.

Michael still hadn't quite gotten the hang of actually exploring people's thoughts. The best he could do was catch what the boys were telling him, and maybe if someone thought something incredibly hard...but he still had no idea she thought he was human. Frankly, he didn't think the topic was that important. "I'm really glad I ran into you tonight. I was hoping you could come with me," he suggested, raising his eyebrows slightly. Closure. That was all David needed. Closure. Then he'd chill the fuck out, hopefully.

She scowled slightly, "Come with you? Where?"

He didn't want to freak her out, because she'd definitely been pretty damn terrified the last time he saw her. If she found out he wanted her to go back to the hotel with him, she'd probably lose her mind…so Michael just smiled softly, cajolingly, and a little creepily...because as a vampire, that was the best semblance of nice he could muster, when he placed a hand on hers. "Does it matter?"

"Yeah, Michael, come with you where?" David's voice was in his ear, he felt his hands fall on his shoulders and saw the panic in Star's eyes, "Don't move, Star." He stated firmly, freezing her in place with a glare.

Michael sighed outwardly. He'd hoped this wouldn't have to happen out in public...if Star and David were going to talk, he'd have preferred it was somewhere they didn't have to go on a killing spree to keep the witness count low if David lost his temper, "home?" Michael asked hopefully, not moving an inch. He didn't want to be bitten again...and since David didn't seem to be in a very good mood right now, he was as unpredictable as a viper.

"Home." He let out an angry snort, "No, Michael, she won't be coming home with us, not now, not ever." His hands clenched slightly, "In fact, she's lucky I don't take her home, rip her throat out, and throw her out into the ocean."

"D-David...How're you alive? H-How are Michael and I human if you're alive?" She was gripping the table so tight her knuckles turned white. Michael gave her a sheepish look, but remained silent. Well, this wasn't turning out as well as he'd planned…

"I didn't turn you, that's how I'm alive and _you're_ human. Michael on the other hand, well, I think it's time for him and I to have a little...talk."

Michael closed his eyes, "really? _Now?_ I've still got half a burger left..."

David growled softly, "Wrap it up if you want it, but we're leaving."

Huffing, more than a little frustrated, Michael opened his eyes and glanced at Star, "sorry. Maybe next time, huh?" He had no idea that was probably the last thing he should have said.

David snarled, storming back to the bikes, Michael was his! His! And not Star, not anyone, was going to have him! He waited there, expecting him to follow, the others would show up when they were ready.

Once he was gone, Star didn't wait to say her good-byes to Michael. She was off like the wind, screaming bloody murder...and Michael got a very odd sense of deja vous. He sighed, wrapping up his burger and tossing it in the trash. David could be such a dick sometimes. And he was only getting worse.

David was waiting for him, his bike running, "Meet me back home, Michael." His voice was flat, the anger nearly palpable as he took off. Michael watched him disappear, dumbfounded. What was his _problem_?!

* * *

Dwayne must have passed some kind of message along, because when Michael came back into the hotel, the only other bike he saw was David's. He frowned, striding down the steps as a group of birds took flight around him. He batted at them, coughing as they stirred up a cloud of dust. He didn't even have time to see it coming...

The moment he was inside, David was on him, pinning him down with a growl, "You're mine." He hissed lowly. Michael yelped in surprise as they fell to the ground.

"WHAT THE FUCK, DAVID?!" He shouted, baring his fangs and struggling to push him off.

David snarled, pinning him down with his body, covering him and sinking his fangs into his throat. His hands stayed busy, fumbling to undress them both, at least enough to get to the good part. Michael's eyes widened in shock and a reluctant thrill running down his spine at the feel of David's bite, what was it with these guys?! Fuck, it was like he was a piece of meat!

"Stop," Michael rasped, even as he involuntarily pressed his neck closer against David's mouth, almost urging him to bite deeper. Harder. He couldn't help it. It just felt so _good_. So very terrible and so very good.

David chuckled softly into the flesh trapped between his teeth, biting down a little harder as he finally managed to wrestle their pants off, " _You're mine!"_ He drove himself into the body beneath him. Michael screamed, the pain driving through the pleasure clouding his mind from David's bite, and he didn't know who he hated more right now, David or himself.

It felt so right, so perfect. Part of him felt bad, this wasn't how he wanted to do it, wasn't how he imagined it, but there was something driving him and he just couldn't stop. He moaned into his neck, giving a little thrust, now that he was inside he had to make this good, had to make it better. He rubbed his tongue over the bite, starting slow, working to claim him, his hands sliding over his body, trying to soothe and work him up at the same time. Memorizing his body as if he couldn't get enough.

For his part, Michael didn't know what to think, or how he should even feel. He was overwhelmed. This just wasn't what he'd ever seen himself doing, not with a guy, not with David, and...well, yeah, definitely not with a vampire. The last part couldn't be helped, though, considering how he'd likely tear up any human partner he got involved with if he decided to go further than heavy petting.

" _Why?_ " Michael half-demanded, half pleaded for an answer as he began to respond to David's ministrations despite his best efforts not to. This just didn't make sense...didn't seem like it could ever make sense. He cried out and clawed at the earth beneath him when he felt David move inside him, and a cooling tongue soothe flesh that felt like it was burning away from his bones for the heat.

David wished he had an answer, "Fuck, had to." He didn't know what else to say, "Need you, mine." He nipped and sucked his skin, claiming and marking him, moving deeply inside him. He was determined to make Michael come before him, he had to, needed to prove he could take care of his mate.

He didn't want to, still didn't want this, but Michael involuntarily pressed back against David, moaning into the ground below him, the sound muffled as he snapped his mouth shut. His own body didn't seem to care whether or not Michael had consented to this. What's more, a part of him was even actively enjoying the violence, which was ten levels of fucked-up.

"Could've asked," Michael remarked dryly, flinching at the pain and throwing his head back as that ache began to finally ease a little, became something closer to actual pleasure, though he doubted the agony would completely go away. With a snarl, he reached back and grabbed at one of David's arms, pulling it forward to sink his fangs into his forearm.

David let out a grunt, his hips snapping forward as he reached around with his free hand and gave him a firm stroke, "Come on." He hissed before sinking his fangs into his shoulder again. He was barely holding on, it wouldn't take much to finish.

Michael's eyes rolled into the back of his skull as he nursed the wound he'd made in David's arm, before finally...oh god...he tore his fangs from the pale flesh and howled as he finally climaxed, exhausted, angry, and bitterly satisfied despite himself. David gave a final thrust in, moaning into his skin as he filled him up, cursing softly under his breath.

"Fuck."

As they collapsed to the ground together in a tangle of limbs, Michael wanted to say something. But...he didn't have any words. He wanted to push David away, curse him, fight him...but he just couldn't summon up the will. "You're a son of a bitch," he mumbled, remaining still.

He chuckled softly into his throat, "Heard that one before." He pulled him close against his chest, "Man, what're we gonna tell the boys?" He felt calmer, more centered, Dwayne was right, he needed this.

Michael closed his eyes, "don't tell them anything. I'm _not_ gay." And if he said anything, Michael would deny it with all of his 'soul' or 'heart', or whatever it was he had now. They'd have a hell of a long road ahead of them.

* * *

There had to be a way to save his brother. He couldn't want to be one of the evil undead. Sam sighed, heading for the comic book shop. He would have to do more research, hunt for a way to rescue Mike from their evil clutches. Long before he even drew up to the shop, though, the smell of garlic assaulted his senses, and everyone around him seemed to be rushing away from the source. He scowled, pinching his nose as he walked inside, seeing rows of garlic strung up around the shop.

"What the hell, guys?" His voice came out nasally, "Why do you have garlic strung up?"

Edgar, who'd been standing in the corner on a footstool trying to staple another string of garlic on top of three that were already there, rounded on Sam with a deep frown. He wore a necklace, a belt, and even a sash of garlic, too…"Show me your neck!" He demanded, "are you cool?!"

Meanwhile, Alan crouched behind the counter, spritzing the glass and wood with holy water, eyes trained on Sam as he entered.

"Dude, I'm cool. Umm, the other vamps, they, uh, killed the head vamp in my living room. I think we're safe, pretty sure they're not coming after us." He kept his nose plugged, "You're gonna drive away customers with the garlic!"

"If they don't like garlic and holy water, we don't want em," Alan stated firmly, standing up behind the counter. "Your brother back to normal?"

Edgar jumped down from his stepping stool and slung a rope of garlic over his shoulder, stalking towards Sam and peering at his neck, not trusting his first impression one tiny bit.

He shook his head, "No, he's still a blood sucker. That's what I wanted to talk about, just wanna find a way to fix him, there's gotta be a way."

Snorting, Edgar shook his head and crossed his arms, "not unless that wasn't the real head vampire, buddy. Your bro made his first kill...suck it up and stake him when his back is turned. You'll feel better. Trust me. I know what I'm talking about...I'm an expert."

He glared at him, "I'm not staking my brother! If your brother was munched you wouldn't want to stake him either!"

"Yes he would," Alan defended, "it's the code. We agreed a long time ago before we started this business that no matter what, if one of us vamped out…" He slid his thumb across his neck in a slicing gesture, scowling at Sam. "We'll help you if you need ammo, maybe even teach you the ropes...but unless you're willing to do what you have to do, we can't help you with your brother."

Sam crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the garlic, "Fine, I'll do it myself." He turned and stormed from the store.

Edgar exchanged a look with his brother, grunting, "he'll be back." He paused. "Pass me some garlic jerky."

* * *

Author's final notes

 _Ran - What do you MEAN there's a sequel?! Since when? Why did nobody tell me this?!_

 _Kage - I'm sorry! I couldn't stop myself! It had to happen!_

 _Ran - Ugh. Well...here we go again! Please tell me it's at least right after the events in this story..._

 _Kage - Umm, nope…Sorry..._


End file.
